“I definitely will.” She looked at Nick. “I wish I could get Nick into rafting, but I can’t even get him to go running with me.”
Nick flashed a cocky grin and said, “Some people are built for running; others are built to ride.”
Trixie rolled her eyes, and Travis chuckled.
“When do you run, Trixie? I do a few miles in the mornings when my ex-wife has Peaches, and I’d love company,” Travis said as they came to a pasture where miniature horses were playing and grazing.
That twinge turned to a spear, slicing through Nick, and he hated it. He had no business being jealous over a woman who could never be his, and Travis was a great guy. But that didn’t stop the gnawing in his gut.
April dropped Dolly’s lead and toddled over to the fence, her ringlets springing with each step. She stuck her head through the fence and hollered, “Hawsey! C’mere!”
As Nick picked up the lead, Trixie’s eyes connected with his, a coy smile sliding into place as she said, “I run around six in the morning. I’d love company, too.”
Nick turned away, gritting his teeth as they made plans to run tomorrow morning and exchanged phone numbers.
“They coming!” April announced.
“They’re so cute,” Trixie exclaimed. “Nick, look at the white one!”
“She’s got a gentle temperament. We call her Mama Hen,” Travis said, taking Dolly’s lead from Nick. “Thanks, man.”
“No problem.”
April squealed with delight as the horses neared.
“Careful, darlin’.” Nick crouched beside April to make sure she didn’t get bitten and put an arm around her as the horses put their noses through the fence.
April giggled. “They kiss me!”
“Keep your hand flat, sweetheart,” Nick reminded her.
“That one’s so pretty, and look at…” Trixie sighed. “That’s so sweet.”
Nick glanced over to see what horse she was talking about, but she was watching him with that tender expression again. She quickly turned away, as she had earlier, and began raving about the horses. What the hell was that? Had he imagined that look? The way his mind worked around Trixie lately, he wouldn’t doubt it.
“Why don’t I take Peaches up to the house for her nap and give you time to check out the horses.” Travis hoisted April onto his hip.
“Dolly,” she said sleepily.
“I’ve got her, Peach.” Travis showed her the lead. “Nick, Trixie, I’ll come back in a bit, but you’ve got my number. Shoot me a text if you need anything.”
“Sounds great, man. Thanks.” Nick winked at April. “Sleep well, darlin’.”
April buried her face in her daddy’s neck, and Travis headed up to the house.
“Thank you!” Trixie called after him. “Nick, there are eleven horses at the fence line. You know what that tells me? Travis’s staff is good to these babies.” She crouched so she was eye to eye with the smaller horses and tugged Nick’s pants leg. “Come here.”
He knelt beside her.
“Look at them, Nick. Don’t you want to bring them all home?”
“You know I do.”
“I realize I have to get to know them to see which ones are best suited for therapy, but I could just sit here and look at them all afternoon.”
“We’ve got all day, darlin’.” He sat on the grass and patted the space beside him.
Her eyes widened. “You don’t mind?”
“This is your future. We can’t put a time limit on that. We have dinner with my parents and Jax and Jilly tonight, but we can put that off if need be.”
“No. I want to see everyone. I miss them.”
She sat down and leaned against his side. They didn’t talk as they watched the horses. There was no rushing to get to the next thing or needing to fill the silence. Every now and then Trixie would laugh as the horses played, and it made Nick smile. This was how it had always been with them. But like everything else, this time it felt different. Not only was he realizing the ways in which his feelings had changed toward her, but he was also noticing other things about himself, like how often he smiled when she was there and how relaxed he felt with her when she wasn’t goading him. He leaned back on his palms, and Trixie moved closer, resting her head on his shoulder. He waited for that fire to burn inside him, but it didn’t come. What he felt was even more dangerous. He could sit there all damn day, listening to her sweet sighs and soft laughs as she began this new adventure in her life.
A while later, she said, “There’s such a difference between horse farmers and cattle ranchers. My brothers love horses, but not the way you and I do. They love the wild ones, but they’d never want to sit and watch them like this to see how they interact or learn their idiosyncrasies. I think that’s the best part of getting to know all kinds of animals. You can learn so much by observing them in their natural surroundings. If you spend enough time with them, you realize that even the most aggressive ones have their tender moments.”
Why did he get the feeling she wasn’t only talking about horses?
He rested his head against hers, wondering how a woman could torture him one minute and make him feel like he never wanted the moment to end in the next?
TRIXIE COULDN’T HAVE asked for a better day. They’d spent hours observing the horses, and by the end of the afternoon, they’d chosen six clear winners in the temperament department. She’d arranged to come back tomorrow, and she was looking forward to getting to know the horses better. But it wasn’t just the horses that had made the day so wonderful. She’d loved spending downtime with Nick just as much as she loved working with him on his ranch. She got to enjoy totally different sides of him. While working on the ranch, Nick was a rugged man on a mission, gruff, demanding, and layered with sarcasm and grit, which left Trixie hyped up and often revved up, too. But afternoons like today left her feeling drunk on him.
As they climbed out of his truck in front of his parents’ brick and stone manor-style house, she looked forward to being treated to yet another side of Nick. Around his family, he fell into a place between that gruff rancher and laid-back friend. He was less guarded around them, but not really open, and he was a different kind of fun.
Nick helped her out and closed the passenger door, asking, “What’s that goofy smile for?”
“I’m just excited to see everyone.” And that other side of you.
She headed up the walk, and Nick hooked his finger into her belt loop, tugging her toward the side yard. “Sounds like they’re out back.”
As they neared the backyard, Jillian’s voice and Jax’s laughter rang out. Jax was playing basketball with their father, and Jillian was sitting on the patio with Nick’s mother. Coco, Jax’s dog, was lying on the grass by the basketball court. Coco was one of Goldie’s pups from the same litter as Rowdy.
Coco darted toward them, and Jillian popped to her feet, looking cute in tan cinch-waisted shorts that made her petite frame look even tinier and a flowy white top with gold trim—one of her signature pieces. “They’re here!” She ran behind Coco in her wedged heels as if she were wearing sneakers, her burgundy hair flying over her shoulders.