Chapter 7
CHAPTER SEVEN
ABBY
I ’m the biggest screw-up in the history of screw-ups.
I not only practically fell off a runaway horse, but then lost the freaking horse, too.
“There’s the trail.” Grayson points ahead of us, his words rumbling in his chest behind me, where I’m scrunched against him like a sardine.
When I suggested we ride back together, I thought it might be romantic, but he was right when he said it’d be uncomfortable.
He swings off the saddle when we’re on even ground and holds the reins in one hand as he leads us to the stables. He’s unusually quiet, his shoulders tense, and while my newfound plan to find ways to connect with him is still in place, I stay silent, too. My eyes are itchy from crying and all I want to do is go nurse my bruised ego in peace.
He’s probably over there rethinking this entire farce. Could he have picked a worse person to feign interest in? Once everyone hears what happened… My face flushes at the thought.
We’re silent the whole way back, but as we enter the stables, Grayson helps me off the horse, his hands spanning my waist for the briefest of moments before he’s gone.
“Are you afraid of horses?”
I nearly startle at his question after silence for so long. “Um, no. Just unfamiliar, I guess. I had no idea what to expect.”
“You want to learn how to groom one? That might make you more comfortable.”
I blink up at him stupidly. He wasn’t figuring out a way to get rid of me before the wedding this whole time?
Nodding mutely, I follow him as he leads the horse into its stall, saying something about clipping her into cross ties to get the tack off. I don’t know what it means, but I nod again in agreement, watching him move confidently around the stall. I had no idea he knew so much about horses.
Grayson points under the horse’s belly. “We’ll start by loosening the girth—that strap holding the saddle in place. Don’t take it all the way off yet. Just loosen it so Kentucky can breathe easier.”
“Wait, you want me to do it?” Didn’t he see how my last experience with a horse went?
He runs a hand down the horse’s side. “Kentucky here is a hell of a lot calmer than Houdini. I wish I would’ve known something about their temperaments first or I would’ve put you on her.”
I shrug. “Lesson learned.”
He eyes me. “You’re taking what happened pretty calmly.”
“More like trying to block my mortification,” I mumble, loosening the strap he pointed out.
Thankfully, Kentucky doesn’t react.
“Bridle comes off next. Hold her head gently and we’ll slip it off.”
I move in front of the horse, her big brown eyes gazing back at me docilely. Tentatively, I reach a hand out and stroke her snout as Grayson unhooks the reins, then removes the bit from her mouth. He slides the bridle off over her ears, and she thankfully doesn’t startle, letting me pet her head the whole time.
“Yeah, Kentucky’s more my speed.” Today might have been a success if I’d had her to begin with.
He moves to her side and finishes undoing the girth, then lifts the saddle and removes the pad underneath. “You have nothing to be embarrassed about. It could’ve happened to anyone.”
And yet, I was the only one it happened to. I give him a tight smile instead of saying it aloud, though. “I’m sorry if I worried you.”
He shakes his head, some of the tension from earlier still in him. “No, I overreacted. It must have been the adrenaline.”
A lot of what happened is a blur, but I do remember him hugging me tightly afterward, the sense of safety from being in his arms doing more than he knew to finally calm me down.
“You were like an action hero saving me like that.”
He looks up at me in surprise from where he was checking Kentucky’s side. “To be honest, I was scared out of my mind.”
He was? He’d seemed like he had everything under control.
“You care that much?” I blurt out without thinking about it.
“Of course. You’re… you’re an old family friend. Kristen would have my head if something happened to you.”
I give him some semblance of a smile before turning away. A family friend. His little sister’s best friend. I can’t forget that’s what I am to him.
Even if that’s not the way I feel at all.
The reminder of Kristen sends an additional stab of guilt through me. She’d asked me the other day how I felt being roped into Grayson’s fake wedding date scheme, and I’d downplayed the whole thing. I’ve never told her about my crush on Grayson.
“Can I brush her?” I ask, noticing the brushes along one wall of the stall. Maybe giving my mind something else to focus on will stop me from begging Grayson to see me in a new way. Someone other than the invisible girl I’ve always been to him.
“Yeah, of course. Let’s start with the curry comb.” He picks one up and hands it to me. “Use small, circular motions to loosen up the dirt under the horse’s coat.”
I slide my hand through the handle and tentatively reach out to Kentucky’s side, afraid I’ll mess this up somehow. “Like this?” I sweep it over her side in a circle.
“Smaller.” His hand covers mine, warm and rough as he shows me what to do. I savor the contact, hating how I cling to these small scraps of connection even as I wish he wouldn’t let go.
He starts in on her other side, then hands me a hard brush to flick off the dirt I’ve loosened.
“Be careful around the legs and belly,” he tells me. “They’re more sensitive there.”
I nod, more confident now, and finally finish with a soft brush in long, gentle strokes. There’s something relaxing about doing this, almost like we’re giving Kentucky a mini massage.
“Might be nice to be a horse just to get this kind of attention,” I say, half-joking.
He looks up, giving me a half smile, but it doesn’t reach his eyes.
I set the brush back on the shelf. “Is everything okay?”
Now that I really look at him, there’s a tightness to his movements, his shoulders rigid.
He nods, but I don’t believe him.
“Grayson.”
His gaze cuts to me, then away. “I… I keep thinking about the whole thing,” he finally says. “How close you were to falling.”
“I’m fine.”
“Yeah…” He blows out a shaky breath. “But what if you weren’t? Something bad could’ve happened.”
Oh my God, he’s actually worried about this. Even if I am only a family friend .
I walk around Kentucky, laying a hand on Grayson’s forearm. “Don’t kill yourself with the what-ifs. I’m fine. Really.”
I take a chance and hug him, half-surprised when he hugs me back, pressing me in tight to him. My eyes drift shut, basking in the simple pleasure of being in his arms, this time not in the aftermath of a high-stakes situation. His hands burn hot through the cotton of my shirt, and I know I’ll be reliving this moment later.
“Don’t worry me like that again,” he murmurs, his breath tickling my ear, and a shudder runs through me.
“I won’t,” I promise, my voice faint and wispy. Way to seem unaffected, Abby.
As he pulls away, our gazes lock, and I swear there’s an infinitesimal pause, a wealth of possibilities in the air. It’s broken, though, when he turns again to Kentucky to finish brushing her coat.
I sigh, knowing I was imagining it, but wishing it was true all the same.
“That’s so scary,” Harper says, concern all over her face. “Why didn’t you say anything when we got back from the ride?”
I shrug, sipping from the can of sparkling water she gave me. Everyone else has wine or beer, but I’ve never been a drinker. I don’t get how people enjoy the taste of alcohol.
“I didn’t want to make a big deal of it. It was embarrassing.”
Kristen gives me a sympathetic smile, but Harper’s look is full of pity. She’s the only one who knows how I really feel about Grayson.
“They shouldn’t have that horse out for trail rides if it’s doing stuff like that,” Kristen says.
“That’s exactly what your brother said.”
“Well, he gets things right every once in a while.” She ducks her head out from Harper’s kitchen to check on Grayson, Owen, and Eli in the living room. “Is it going okay with him?”
I roll my eyes. “Yes, Mom.”
Her lips purse, but I can tell she’s hiding a smile. “Just making sure. I still can’t believe he’s trying to pull one over on Mom like this.”
“It seems to be working,” Harper says. “From what I’ve seen, at least.”
“And it’s only been, what? Four months since you were single?” I remind Kristen. “Are you saying you don’t remember what her matchmaking efforts were like when they were focused on you? Can you blame him for wanting to head her off at the pass?”
“Yeah, I guess,” she grumbles.
Harper grins. “Maybe you’re jealous he found a way to beat Cheryl at her own game.”
Kristen laughs at that. “Maybe I am. But seriously.” She looks at me. “I hate that you’re caught in the crossfire. I don’t want you having to clean up his mess once he goes back to Seattle.”
I pat her arm. “I’m a big girl. I’ll be fine.”
There’s a knock at the front door and Harper rushes to get it, knowing it’s Elena and Kelly.
Kristen steps in closer, her gaze on the two women entering. “What do you think of them?”
Ooh, are we gossiping? “I haven’t talked much to either of them, but they seem nice. Why? You have something to report?”
“No, I just noticed Elena keeps checking out Grayson.”
She has? I’ve been so wrapped up in trying to put on a good performance in front of the others that I haven’t paid attention to anything else.
“It’s too bad he made the deal with you before she showed up,” she continues. “Honestly, that would have been a better scenario for him. They both leave after the wedding and Mom doesn’t have anyone to badger about why it didn’t work out.”
I give her a weak smile, muttering some kind of agreement, but my attention is laser focused on Elena now, her glossy dark hair hanging loose down her back, a pretty red sundress complementing her bronzed skin. She’s smiling at something Harper says and all I can think about is how beautiful she is, how much better of a match she is for Grayson. I know Kelly is engaged, but Harper never mentioned Elena having a husband or boyfriend, and her left ring finger is bare.
Jealousy and shame swirl in my gut. Elena’s done nothing wrong. Kristen’s probably imagining it.
Kristen sets the two women up with drinks, and as they wait, I watch Elena surreptitiously. See, there’s nothing—
Her gaze cuts to Grayson as soon as Harper turns her back, and I push down the insane sudden urge to scratch her eyes out.
Oh God, this is going to be a long night.