He gave Maximus one last pat and stuck his hands in his pockets. “I’ll let you get back to work, then. Thanks for the ride, Harper.”
She barely glanced at him as she untacked Scar, fingers deftly removing the throatlatch. “No problem. If I don’t see you, have a safe flight back.”
Aidan walked back to the inn, realizing she hadn’t addressed him by name. Not even once. He wondered why that bothered the shit out of him.
Maybe this vacation had been a mistake. The only thing downtime was giving him was a fucking breakdown. He should’ve realized work was bred into his genes, and trying to take a break did nothing but stress him out.
His mind sifted through his choices. For the past two months, he’d scoured the most popular racetracks east of the Mississippi and used up all his contacts to find a new horse to train. But there was nothing left for him here.
He couldn’t return to Ireland with nothing to show for his time in the States. If he dug deep into his bank account and cut his stay short at the inn, he might be able to finance a trip to California and sniff out any possibilities. He might be able to work some odd jobs at Santa Anita. Hell, maybe he could be a consultant. Anything to keep money in his pocket and his feet by a barn. Best to leave New York behind and see if the West Coast offered a temporary solution.
Yes, that was the best decision.
He’d let Ophelia know he was leaving early and head out this weekend.
If only Harper weren’t so stubborn about letting him help in the barns. It was easy to see she had too much to do and not enough people. Owen was useless, and with her brother distracted, there were too many horses who needed workouts, grooming, feeding, and—
The idea hit him.
Harper wasn’t the type to ask for help, especially from a guest. Hell, he wouldn’t, either. She was prideful, stubborn, and liked to do things her own way. Those traits were obvious at their first meeting. No, he’d made a mistake by giving her a choice.
He’d correct it immediately.
The next day, Harper chugged down some Red Bull, donned work gloves, and began to attack her midmorning schedule. Already out at the stables by five thirty a.m., she knew it was a good time to tackle the workouts since the day’s weather was a bit more seasonal and cooler for early June. She did her best to give every horse the attention and exercise they needed, but she always worried one would be neglected. Today she wanted to have some time with Phoenix and get a few workout sessions in so she could begin getting him ready to tackle the racing circuit.
She tacked up Flower, laughing as the sweet mare tried to nibble at her hair, and suddenly felt the air around her squeeze and charge. Harper looked up.
Aidan cocked his head and treated her to a slow, lazy smile. “You’re such a pretty little lass,” he said, his lilting, deep voice stroking her ears and other places. Bad places.
She ignored her body’s horrifying reaction and concentrated on his words. “Are you kidding? Did you really call me that?”
Amusement glinted in his golden eyes. “No. I was addressing the horse.”
She absolutely refused to blush.
Flower turned from her, stretching out to greet the newcomer who promised her sweet words. Aidan laughed and scratched behind her ears.
Harper shook her head, trying to regain her balance. “I’m sorry, there’s no time today to schedule a ride. Ophelia never let me know.”
“Not here to ride. Here to work. Are we doing workouts?”
She blinked. He was dressed in the same type of casual clothes he’d worn yesterday—jeans, a black T-shirt, and work boots. He was freshly shaved and incredibly virile, and she fought the sudden urge to move closer and get another whiff of his incredible smell. Damn it, he smelled better than Ophelia’s freshly baked scones, and that was hard to do. And why was his height so sexy? She literally had to lift her chin a bit to look at him. “I told you yesterday guests don’t work the property.”
He gave a wink. “I’m not a guest. Just a volunteer looking to help out for a few hours. If you’re uncomfortable with me riding, I’ll muck the stalls. Or give baths.” His gaze stabbed right through her. “Whatever you need, Harper.”
A shiver raced down her spine. Oh no. She was not about to deal with this type of distraction today. The man had no right to invade her sacred space. “I appreciate it, but we’re fine.”
Flower butted her head against him in a demand for more stroking. “Aren’t you a greedy little thing,” he murmured. “’Course, I do love a female who asks for what she wants.” He spoke the words to Flower but never broke his intense gaze with Harper.
Her mouth dried up, and she stared at him like an idiot. Finally, in an awkward move, she yanked Flower back from him and began prepping her to ride. “This may come as a shock to you, but I can take care of this farm by myself.”
“Imagine how much better it will be with me here.”
She shook her head, clamping down on the urge to laugh. There was something about his arrogance that came out charming—a rare feat for a male to accomplish, at least the ones she’d tried to date. “Thought you weren’t a guest anymore. When are you leaving?”
“A few days. I’m here through Friday, and then I head to California. Gonna let your pride lose you two strong hands for the rest of the week and the opportunity to boss me around?”
She was saved from answering with the arrival of her rescue chicken, Hei Hei. Spotting the stranger in front of Harper, he stopped a few feet from Aidan, his beady eyes narrowing in on his prey.
Harper settled back to enjoy the scene. There wasn’t a person alive who didn’t freak out when they first met the Polish chicken. With his crazy white head feathers sticking up in the air, heavy red jowls, and gigantic mottled-black body, he looked like a monstrous mutated animal ready to attack.
Aidan stilled, his gaze swiveling to study the new visitor. “Harper?”
“Yeah?”
“What the hell is that?”
She smirked. “Meet Hei Hei. Hei Hei, this is Aidan. He wants to work on the farm with us. What do you think?”
The chicken cocked his head. Scratched his claws against the ground. And started to screech at the top of his lungs.
Was that a bead of sweat on Aidan’s forehead or just her imagination? Harper knew the chicken was harmless, but she also knew Hei Hei had a hard time around men. He liked to intimidate and show them who was the real boss in town.
“What’s he doing?” Aidan asked in a low voice.
“Probably getting ready to charge.”
“Ah, shit.”
With one last outraged shriek, the chicken took off toward Aidan in a mad fury. Even Harper recognized Hei Hei looked like one of those creatures from the Goosebumps movie. She watched to see if Aidan would run or try to fight.
With one smooth movement, Aidan knelt down to the ground, arms casually resting on his knees, and waited for the attack.
The chicken skidded the last few feet and bumped against his knees. Spinning around a few times as if confused, he began pecking at Aidan’s feet, but when there was no fighting or loud voices, he began to settle. Lifting his huge head, the chicken studied the man before him, then slowly relaxed, brushing his feathers against Aidan’s legs in a stroking motion.