“Definitely.”
Mia groaned. “I give up.”
Chloe laughed and turned to Harper. “I can help you out till mid-August, when I head back into Manhattan to hang with Dad. How’s Chloe’s Pride?”
“She’s missed you.” Harper squeezed her shoulder with affection. “We’ve all missed you, but I heard you got on the dean’s list this semester. Way to go.”
“Thanks.” Her face lit up. “I’m thinking about getting into law. Specifically, animal protective rights litigation. There are so many rescues who suffer and need someone to fight on their behalf. You taught me that, Harper.”
Aidan watched the emotions play over Harper’s face. Pride surged. She was so damn special, but she had no clue. She was the type of woman to keep her head down and barrel forward, never thinking of herself. She needed to be told more often she was important. Chloe’s words seemed to tug at something she kept carefully hidden—a longing to be seen or heard.
He wanted to be the man to give it to her.
But he couldn’t.
Elmo dismounted and introduced himself with his usual one-word answers, but Chloe didn’t seem to mind.
Owen strolled out of the barn with a confused look on his face. “Hey, guys. Did I miss a group meeting or something?”
Harper waved him over. “Owen, this is Chloe Lake. She’s the one who helped us out last summer and attends SUNY New Paltz. She’ll be helping us out again this summer. Maybe she can teach you a few things.”
Aidan caught Harper’s edgy voice and winced. Owen had been trying, but he was still sloppy with instructions, afraid of a majority of the horses, and distracted by his phone.
Chloe gave Owen a smile. “Nice to meet you,” she said.
A strange look skittered over Owen’s face. He stood stock-still, staring at her with his mouth half-open and a glazed look in his eyes.
Aidan watched him with a bit of worry. “You okay, buddy?” he asked.
Owen didn’t move.
Chloe frowned and touched his shoulder. “Is it the heat? Summer is rough. You have to make sure you’re hydrated.”
A slow, dopey smile broke over the kid’s face. Those crazy surfer curls bounced and brushed his cheeks. “Chloe,” he whispered, staring at the girl.
Uh-oh.
Chloe stepped back, shooting him an odd look. “Uh, yeah. That’s me. How do you like working at the farm?”
The dopey grin stayed put. “Love it.”
Harper let out a humorless laugh, completely oblivious to what was happening. “I wish,” she said with a bite of sarcasm. “He’s been struggling, but Aidan is teaching him how to ride, and if we can surgically remove his phone from his hand, he may do better.”
Chloe laughed, swinging her head, and Owen blinked, as if dazzled by a flash of lights. “I had some trouble when I first came here, too,” she admitted, shooting a mischievous look at Mia. “But some great people straightened me out. Just let me know if you need help.”
Aidan watched the poor schmuck crumble before him. Oh yeah, he had it bad. Lovesick after one glance at the lovely Chloe, his fate could go one of two ways: his work at the farm would suck even more because he’d be distracted by his new love interest, or he’d get his shit together and try to impress her.
Aidan hoped for the latter.
Owen glowed. “Thanks, Chloe. Maybe you can show me how to—oh, crap!”
A mad, shrill screech and clucking rose in the air. Hei Hei crashed down the path, his crazy head feathers bobbing, and hurtled straight to . . . Owen.
Aidan tried not to wince as the scene played out in rapid time. Owen screamed, seemingly too overtaken by fear to act cool in front of Chloe, and began to frantically back up. Mia and Ethan snapped out a command for the chicken to stop, but Hei Hei averted Mia’s reach by inches and charged.
Owen stumbled and fell back onto the ground. Hei Hei began pecking with glee at his feet, fat jowls jiggling, while Owen squirmed and tried to crawl away like he was trapped in a Stephen King movie. Owen kicked, and Hei Hei backed up, apparently satisfied he’d made his presence known.
Then those beady eyes fastened on Phoenix.
Everything morphed into a shitshow.
Phoenix took one glance at the crazed chicken and went nuts. Shaking his head and pawing the ground, the horse tried to challenge the creature in an old-fashioned game of . . . chicken.
Elmo grabbed for the reins, but Phoenix twisted hard and advanced.
Hei Hei shrieked and charged back.
Mia yelled, and Harper suddenly jumped in the middle of the dueling pair, causing Aidan to have a fucking heart attack. With a dancer’s grace, she pivoted, knocking the chicken off course, while she yanked hard on the horse’s bridle just in time.
The two animals stared at one another in some type of alpha battle.
Mia threw her head back in temper. “Hei Hei! Bad chicken! I’ve told you not to bother Owen! You just like taunting him, and that’s mean, and Phoenix had every right to trample you for your behavior. Are you listening to me?”
The chicken raced over to Mia and began rubbing his head feathers against her legs.
She shook her finger at him. “Sucking up is not going to help this relationship right now,” she said sternly. “You’re going in the pen, and I want you to think about this behavior of yours and how you want to change.”
Hei Hei squawked.
“I don’t care. Maybe by limiting your freedom for the day, you’ll learn to appreciate the animals you share space with. Now, let’s go. March.”
Aidan stared at the bizarre exchange. But when Mia took off down the path with Hei Hei following sullenly, his mind was officially blown.
Damn. That was some chicken.
Chloe knelt in front of Owen. “Are you okay?”
He got up, brushing himself off, and nodded. “Yeah. Sorry, he never liked me.”
“He has issues with men,” Chloe said seriously. “Harper said it took a long time for him to feel safe because of how he was hurt, but he’d never truly harm you. He just likes the power of being in charge since he was helpless for so many years.”
Owen stared at her with undisguised hero worship. “Wow. You’re really amazing with animals. I never thought of stuff like that before. You must be supersmart.”
“Not really. I have to study hard to get good grades, but I want to practice animal law one day,” she said.
“That’s a great field. Maybe you can teach me more about the animals on the farm. You know, so I’m not as afraid.”
“Sure.”
Aidan shared a look with Ethan. They both shook their heads at the problem blossoming before them.
Ethan cleared his throat. “Hey, Chloe, why don’t you come with me to the inn and say hello to Ophelia? Owen, I need you back in the stables. Can you clean out the stall for Chloe’s Pride so she can be ridden later?”
Owen’s face fell. “Well, I kind of wanted to—”
“Oh, that’s my horse,” Chloe said, beaming. “She’s a sweet little mare, isn’t she? I really appreciate it.”
Owen did a quick pivot, nodding with crazed enthusiasm. “Of course! Chloe’s Pride is my favorite in the whole barn. I got it covered, boss.”
Boss?
Ethan and Chloe took off, and Owen disappeared back into the stables. Elmo had taken in the whole scene without a word, and he kept his silence, trudging off with Phoenix, leaving them alone.