Chapter 14 #2
“You must be Carter Cahill,” a voice said next to me. I jumped just a little, so entranced by Hawk, I hadn’t noticed anyone come up.
I turned and took in the woman, on the shorter side and a little plump, with a mane of wild, dark curls piled on top of her head.
One of the sisters I hadn’t met. There was no mistaking a Harrington when you saw one.
They all had dark or light brown hair, and took after one of their parents.
Sometimes it was a mix. Like this woman, who had Jenn’s blue eyes but Mike’s mouth. The same shape mouth Hawk had.
“I am. I haven’t had the pleasure of your acquaintance yet.” I gave a silly little half-bow.
The woman rolled her eyes but she was smiling too. “I’m Demi.”
“Ah, the new mom! Congratulations on your twins. And I only met your daughter for a moment but she’s a cherub and sweet as pie. Good job.”
I got a real smile for that and she softened a little. “Thanks. I certainly think so.”
“How are you doing? Recovering from a C-section and caring for two babies plus a toddler is no joke.”
For a moment, Demi didn’t answer. She studied me seriously, her gaze roving all over my face. I let her look. Eventually, her eyes lit up.
“I’m doing well, thank you for asking. Phinneas and Emerson are good babies, Aria loves her little brothers, and I have a lot of help. Their father is an angel on this earth who I love with all my heart, and my family is great.” She smirked. “We know how to do twins around here.”
Right. There were two sets of twins in the siblings. I’d picked up a lot of information just listening to the people of the ranch talk. I had to go into my mental file, but I managed to pull up the pertinent information.
“You’re a twin, right?”
“Yep. And my twin is a doctor. So win-win.” She cocked her head to the side. “Why are you staring at my brother like you want to eat him?”
Because I did. Because no matter that we’d said “just friends”, I still wanted to devour him. Lay him out on my big bed with the super expensive mattress and simply take him apart. But I couldn’t say that. Wouldn’t say that to his sister.
“I’m waiting for him to be done so I can show him what came in,” I said instead, bypassing her statement and shaking the bag I held.
Demi totally noticed, not that I expected her to miss it. But thankfully, she didn’t push. She turned back to the rail, resting her arms on top, and watched Hawk and the horse for a moment or two.
“DH to HH,” she said.
Hawk’s hand went to the two-way on his belt, but then he cranked his head around. He saw us standing there and urged the horse into a trot—look at me, learning to recognize gaits—until he got close enough to speak without shouting.
“Should you be out here?” he asked his sister, the scowl all for show. I saw the way his eyes twinkled.
“Dad’s got the babies, Mom’s entertaining Aria, and I needed fresh air. It’s been six weeks. I’m not ready to ride but Emery says I’m healing well.”
“Emery is not an OB,” Hawk muttered.
“My OB agrees. Can the protectiveness, little brother. Harper looks good.”
Hawk patted the horse on the neck. It tossed its head, but otherwise didn’t react.
“Yeah, she’s doing great. Another few weeks and she’ll be ready to go.
Which gives her owner enough time to work with her before they start showing.
This time next year, she’ll be a Congress Champion in Western Pleasure. ”
“Maybe. Reserve champion at least.” Demi nodded her head in my direction. “Mr. Cahill here wants to show you what he bought.”
Hawk finally looked at me and I caught and held his gaze.
His nostrils flared and he almost smiled, before he got that neutral look back.
He reined the horse a little closer, turning her sideways, so he could see.
I had the strangest urge to reach out and run my hand along his powerful thigh. I refrained but it was a near thing.
“Please, call me Carter,” I said to Demi even as I reached into the bag. I pulled out the bridle I’d special ordered for Ramona. It was hand-tooled leather with teal accents. Completely adjustable and had matching reins, which I left in the bag. “Won’t it look amazing on my girl?”
Hawk’s face did that thing where he wanted to say something snarky but kept it inside. I’d learned that look. “That it will.”
I wanted to know what he really wanted to say, so I had to push. I pulled out my phone, navigated to the saved webpage, and then held it up. “I’m going to custom order her a matching saddle. Look at the accents. And I can get a coordinating saddle pad.”
Hawk took the phone and scrolled down a little.
I’d put in all extras, but I hadn’t purchased it because I didn’t know what size.
According to the site, most horses could wear the standard size and per my research, Ramona would most likely fit that.
But I knew how bad it was to get an ill-fitting saddle.
Hawk’s eyes nearly bugged out of his head. “Three thou—fuck. Carter, do not spend three thousand dollars on a saddle.”
I had a feeling he was going to say that. I gave him a shit eating grin. “Only the best for my horse.”
“No.” Hawk’s gaze turned hard. “We’ll find another saddle.
More like three hundred instead of thousand.
Christ, no one needs to…” He raised his eyes to the sky, took a deep breath, then another one, and focused on me again.
“Look, Ramona is going to continue to put on muscle and tone for the next year or so. I’ll help you pick out something else.
Then, when she’s fully trained and in shape, if you want to waste all that money, I’m not going to stop you. ”
I didn’t see it as a waste. This company was known for their quality, and I figured the fancy saddle would end up lasting her years.
A decade even. Did I need the pretty saddle just to ride her myself?
I did not. Did I want it because she’d look gorgeous in it?
Absolutely. I would have it. Eventually.
“I defer to your judgement,” I said seriously, doing my best to keep my lips from betraying me. I didn’t succeed. The corners quirked up and then I was grinning. Staring at the man on the horse and grinning like a fool.
His breath caught. And when he handed back my phone, his fingers definitely caressed mine.
I couldn’t tear my gaze away from him. We stood there, staring at each other, both of our fingers wrapped around my phone.
What I wouldn’t give to use that hold to pull him closer and kiss that mouth I couldn’t stop thinking about.
“DH to B3.”
Demi’s voice broke our moment, and Hawk relinquished the phone and pulled back. She’d stolen the two-way off Hawk’s belt and she was staring at me like I’d grown a second head.
“This is Wy. What’s up? Over.”
“Can you saddle up Ruger and have someone bring her to the training barn? Over.”
The radio clicked on, then off, then on again. “Uh, not for you, right? Because I’m under strict instructions not to let you on a horse yet. Over.”
Demi rolled her eyes, glared at Hawk, and clicked the button. “No. For Carter. Over.”
“It’s not just me,” Hawk said. “Your fiancé, your parents, and all your brothers are on board.”
Demi snorted but Wy’s voice came through again before she could respond. “That’s okay then. I’ll have her up there shortly. Over and out.”
Demi handed the two-way back to Hawk. Hawk took it, clipped it on his belt, glanced at me for a fraction of a second, then focused on his sister. “Are you sure he’s ready for Ruger?”
“Standing right here,” I muttered, but I didn’t actually care. Watching the byplay between the siblings was entertaining as hell.
“Mal says he is. Niko’s too tame. Besides, you know Ruger is a good girl when she has a rider. It’s not like I’m putting him on Talia.”
“I’d put a stop to it if you were. All right. You gonna have a lesson in the indoor arena?”
Demi nodded and pushed off the railing. “Yeah. It’s contained, obstacle free, and I can instruct from the rail.
Plus, I heard Gemma singing off key when I came through, so she can help if I need it.
” She patted my arm. “Come on. I’ll show you where you can hang Ramona’s new bridle and then we’ll see what Mal’s been teaching you. ”
Without another word, she turned and walked away. But I was still staring at Hawk, and he had his gaze fixed on me. The horse did a little sidestep, but Hawk rolled with the motion, still staring.
“Be careful, okay?”
His voice was low and deep, and I heard the concern there. He obviously trusted Demi’s judgment. He would have refused to allow it if he didn’t. And because I trusted him, I was willing to go along with Demi’s plan.
“I promise.”
Hawk’s gaze softened, and he actually gave me a smile. He let go of the reins and reached out, but before I could react, he dropped it to his thigh. He rubbed his palm on his jeans, then took hold of the reins again.
“Have fun. Demi’s good.” Then he whirled the horse around and rode off to the other side of the arena.
Fuck. He was going to be the death of me. I just knew it. The tension between us hadn’t gone away by deciding we would only be friends. If anything, it had increased. I spun and followed the direction Demi had gone, reminding myself of all the reasons Hawk and I couldn’t be more.
It didn’t work, but I tried.