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Finley watched Kieran jog out of the barn with Patsy at his side before knocking Cash’s hand aside and sitting up. He paused to ensure the barn didn’t spin before meeting his boss’s worried blue eyes. “I’m fine.”
“You should still lie down until Rueben gets here.”
He waved Cash’s suggestion away. “I’ve tumbled off horses plenty of times, and I’m no stranger to head trauma. The rake temporarily stunned me. I’m afraid I made a horrible first impression on Kieran.” Finley tilted his head and narrowed his eyes. “Who is he, by the way?”
“He’s the newest member of our staff, and I’d just started giving him a tour.”
“Recently released from jail?”
“Today,” Cash replied. “I just came from picking him up.”
“Ah.” That explained the rain cloud and broken spirit. Finley put his palm down on the concrete to push off, but Cash extended his hand and helped him to his feet. “Where do you plan to place Kieran?”
Cash rubbed the back of his neck as if carefully choosing his words. The gesture was so uncharacteristic that Finley knew what he planned to say, so he rescued his boss like Cash had done for many others.
“Does he have any experience with horses?”
Cash’s lips twisted into a slight grimace. “I haven’t asked yet, but I’m going to guess he doesn’t.”
“Why the stable, then?” But what he really wanted to ask was, “Why me?”
“He had incredible instincts with the dogs in the K9 program, and my gut tells me he’d make a wonderful addition to your crew. There’s just something about him that puts animals at ease,” Cash explained.
“Horses aren’t oversized dogs, though.” Thinking of Nellie and her determination to bite the hell out of anyone near her, Finley added, “One false step could have disastrous consequences.”
“There’s no one better to train Kieran than you.”
Finley worried his bottom lip between his teeth. He trusted Cash’s instincts implicitly. If he said Kieran was a good fit for his team, he would be. His hesitation had more to do with his reaction to the new guy. Finley hadn’t met anyone to tempt him out of his self-imposed detox until locking eyes on Kieran, making him want to answer the lonely howl.I’ll be your pack.It was instinctual to want to fix Kieran and make all his hurts disappear, but he’d learned the hard way that guys like him only knew how to take. They were vampires, draining energy, souls, and sometimes Finley’s bank account, leaving nothing but a broke-ass husk of a man in their wake. He’d worked too hard to heal from Keegan’s rejection and couldn’t risk a relapse. Before Finley could say anything to dissuade Cash from placing Kieran on his team, the man in question returned to the barn with Rueben and Patsy.
“Hey, Rue,” Finley said jovially. “Sorry they pulled you away from your work. I’m fine. The bags of bedding cushioned the blow when I fell.”
The lanky Hispanic man removed his thick leather gloves and tucked them into the pocket of a matching apron. “Let me be the judge of that.”
He led Finley over to a bench and used the flashlight on Cash’s phone to check his pupils. There was a lot of bitching and moaning about Rue blinding him, but he cooperated with his commands to look here and there. Rueben ran through a series of questions that could identify symptoms that could indicate a concussion. Was he nauseated? Did his head hurt? Finley answered no to those questions and the others that followed. Then Rue tested his cognitive abilities. He knew who and where he was and could provide the year and president’s name. Rueben asked Finley to stand up and put him through a series of evaluations to check his balance.
“I’m good, Rue,” Finley said. “I’ve had concussions before, and this isn’t one.”
“I have to agree,” Rueben told Cash. “His eyes look good, his equilibrium checks out, and he’s coherent.”
Cash furrowed his steely gray brows. “But he moaned and sounded like he was in a lot of pain.”
“From humiliation,” Finley replied. “I only hurt my pride. Trust me.”
His boss held his gaze for a long time, and they exchanged an unspoken message. Cash would trust Finley to know if he was hurt if Finley showed Cash the same courtesy with Kieran’s placement. Cash could insist he take on the brooding, sexy man, but his boss didn’t run roughshod over his employees. Yes, Cash was in charge, but he always gave them a say, which was just one reason they loved and revered him.
Rueben slid his gloves back on and pinned Finley with a somber glance. “Seek medical attention right away if your condition changes. It doesn’t take a hard hit to the noggin to cause damage.”
Smiling at the soft-hearted man, Finley gave him a Boy Scout salute. “I promise.”
Rue replied with the Vulcan live long and prosper before exiting the barn, leaving Finley alone with Cash, Kieran, and Patsy.
“Let me make proper introductions,” Cash said. “Kieran, this is Finley Ashe.”
Finley buried his reluctance for the moment and extended his hand to the newcomer. If Kieran wasn’t a good fit for the equine stable, Cash would hear him out and make the necessary changes. Finley needed to give the guy a chance and maybe trust himself too. Kieran stared at his hand for several moments before pressing his palm against Finley’s. Awareness, dark and delicious, unfurled in Finley’s gut and spread lower to settle in his groin. He released Kieran’s hand and hoped his reaction to him didn’t show. The newcomer didn’t let on if he’d felt it too, but his gaze dropped to Finley’s mouth before meeting his eyes again. Finley had easily adhered to a personal policy of not getting involved with anyone on the ranch, but this lonely coyote with sad eyes would be a dangerous temptation.
Cash’s phone rang, and he stepped away to answer it, leaving Kieran and Finley staring at one another. Neither of them spoke or even blinked during Cash’s brief conversation. “That’s an important call I need to finish back at the house,” he said when he rejoined them.
Finley forced himself to look at his boss, whose calm expression didn’t match the terse tone he’d used during his phone chat. He offered him an easy smile. “I can take it from here.”
