Chapter Twelve #2
Ethan looked back out at the empty road and felt something settle in his chest.
He’d built something here over the years, something solid, and these people were part of it. They didn’t ask questions and they didn’t need to be told twice and when it mattered, they showed up. He was grateful for every one of them.
Naomi was warm against his side; her hands wrapped around the coffee cup he’d given her.
“Your people are good,” she said quietly, like she’d been thinking the same thing.
“Yeah.” He pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “They are. I’m just glad that Kurt got it out of his head that he was in love with you.”
“What? Kurt?”
“Yeah, but he falls in love at the drop of a hat. He’ll have to get his own girl.” Ethan smirked, making Naomi laugh.
Later that afternoon, he was looking for Johnny.
He’d checked the arena, the tack room, and the feed barn and was running out of places when he remembered the storage room at the back of the hay barn.
Johnny had mentioned something about reorganizing the equipment in there last week and Ethan had promptly forgotten about it until now.
He pushed the door open without knocking, and he probably should have knocked.
Johnny had Serena backed against the shelving unit along the far wall, one hand on her face and the other on her waist, and she had both arms around his neck and neither of them heard the door open.
Ethan stood there for a second, then pulled the door quietly shut.
He stood in the barn aisle, looked at the ceiling, and felt the corner of his mouth pull up despite himself.
About damn time. He’d watched those two circle each other for the better part of two years, Johnny finding reasons to be wherever Serena was and Serena pretending not to notice while noticing every single thing.
He’d said nothing because it wasn’t his place and because some things worked themselves out if you left them alone long enough.
Apparently, they had.
He was halfway down the barn aisle when the storage room door opened behind him.
“Boss.”
He turned. Johnny was standing in the doorway looking like a man trying very hard to appear casual. Behind him Serena had gone the color of her hair.
Ethan looked at them both for a moment.
“Equipment reorganized?” he asked.
Johnny blinked. “Getting there.”
“Good.” Ethan turned back toward the arena. “Carry on.”
He heard Serena exhale behind him.
He smiled the whole way back to the house.
Naomi was in the kitchen when he got back to the house, standing at the counter eating an apple and reading something on her phone. She looked up when he came in.
“Did you find Johnny?”
“I did.” He poured himself a fresh cup of coffee and leaned against the counter.
She looked at him. “What happened?”
“Nothing.” He took a sip. “Found him in the storage room.”
“And?”
“Serena was in there with him.”
She stared at him for a second, then her face broke into a wide smile. “Finally.”
“That was my reaction.”
“What did you say?”
“Asked if the equipment was reorganized.” He kept his expression straight. “Told them to carry on.”
Naomi burst out laughing, the kind that bent her forward over the counter, and he watched her and thought he could spend the rest of his life listening to that sound and never get tired of it.
“Poor Serena,” she managed.
“She’ll survive.”
Naomi straightened up, still smiling, and looked at him. “You’re not going to make it weird for them?”
“Why would I? They’re grown adults.” He set his cup down. “Besides, I’m in no position to say anything about employees getting involved.”
She gave him a look. “Is that what I am? An employee?”
“Among other things.” He crossed to her and tipped her chin up and kissed her once. “Speaking of which.”
“That was a terrible transition.”
“The competition is in three weeks,” he said. “You think you’re ready?”
The smile that crossed her face was different. Quieter and more certain.
“Vader’s ready,” she said. “And so am I.”
He looked at her for a moment, this woman who’d shown up on his property with nothing but her skill and her stubbornness and had proceeded to turn everything upside down in the best possible way.
“Good,” he said. “Because my whole family is coming to watch.”
Her eyes went wide. “Ethan—”
“They wouldn’t miss it.” He picked up his cup. “Neither would I.”
****
Three weeks later Naomi sat astride Vader, the gelding shifting beneath her like he was ready to go whether she was or not.
The arena in Butte was packed, the stands loud with fans, the smell of dirt and livestock and popcorn hanging in the air. She’d been in arenas like this her whole life and her heart was still hammering.
“Hey.” Ethan’s hand came to her knee. “You alright?”
She looked down at him. “Why did I have to draw last?”
“Luck of the draw, darlin’.” He squeezed her knee. “You’ll be fine. Vader knows what to do. You just hang on.”
She blew out her breath. “I’m so nervous. The time to beat is going to be hard.”
“You’ve been here before.” He held her gaze, steady and certain in that way of his. “You’ve got this. I’m sure a lot of buyers will be interested in him.”
“I’m glad one of us is confident.”
“I will always have faith in you.” Another squeeze.
She managed a grin, then looked past him and felt her chest fill up.