Chapter 5
5
Emma
S urrounded by a sea of brightly colored flowers, Emma stared up at the blue sky. Nothing was more bruised than her ego. She couldn’t believe she’d let her horse get away from her so easily. Not only that, but the animal didn’t seem to care that she was the rider and it was the beast of burden.
A face materialized over the side of the flowers, staring down at her with concern mingled with irritation. This man’s attitude from the other night must be a regular thing. “Are you okay?” he said gruffly.
Emma groaned and closed her eyes.
The flowers parted, and she sensed more than saw him kneel beside her. “Does it feel like anything’s broken?” he demanded. “Tell me now before I do something stupid like move you.”
“I’m fine,” she whispered.
He stilled beside her. “Are you sure?”
There was nothing to do but laugh at this point. Emma’s laughter startled the horses nearby, but thankfully they didn’t take off running like before. She opened her eyes and turned her head so she could get a good look at the man who had probably saved her life. “Yes, I’m sure.” She groaned again as she rose up on her elbows. “These flowers cushioned my fall well enough. But I can tell you one thing, I’m not ever getting on another horse after that ride.”
He lifted a brow. “I’m sorry to break this to you, but in order to get back, you’re going to have to get back in that saddle. Do you realize how far we are from the barn?”
She sat up fully and shook her head. “I think I’d rather walk. If the horse can do it, so can I.” Emma got to her feet and brushed off her pants. She lifted a hand to her head, then gasped and spun around. “I lost my hat.”
“I’m sure there will be others,” he said, standing beside her.
She shook her head. “No, it actually wasn’t mine. I was borrowing it.” Her face flushed with further embarrassment. Not only had she lost control of her horse, but she’d lost the hat and her sunglasses. This ride had turned into something that nightmares were made of. She dug her hands into her hair and let out another sharp laugh. “I really hope Sophia isn’t going to kill me.”
The mere mention of the woman’s name was all it took for her to burst through the trees she’d likely cut through. “Emily!” she called. “Are you okay?” When she got closer, she barely sent the cowboy a look at all. She slipped down from the saddle and rushed toward Emma before looking her over from head to toe. “Please tell me you’re okay. I would never forgive myself if something?—”
Emma laughed. “I’m fine. This…” Her voice trailed off as she looked up at Mr. Grumpy. “He helped stop the horse.”
Sophia glanced toward him. “What are you doing all the way out here, Caleb? I thought you and Mateo were doing some training or something.”
“He got a call that one of your dogs is in labor.”
Sophia’s eyes widened. “Lucy? She’s having her puppies?” She rushed over to her horse. “I have to help.” Then she paused and glanced at Emma. “Are you going to be okay? Lucy was my puppy when I was a teenager. This might be her last set of puppies. I’m so, so sorry.”
Emma shook her head and waved at Sophia with a dismissive hand. “You go ahead. I’m sure I’ll be fine. Caleb has to head that way, too, right?”
He stiffened visibly and stared at her as if she’d asked him for his hand in marriage.
“See? He’s going back. We’ll be fine. Don’t you worry.”
Sophia shifted her attention to Caleb. “Really? That would be so great.”
Caleb looked as if he’d been cornered. Well, that was exactly what had happened. He’d been trapped into helping Emma get home. His shoulders slumped slightly, and his eyes darkened. “Yeah, whatever.”
Sophia was fully saddled at that point, and she took off like a bullet, leaving Emma alone with Caleb.
Emma sighed. “Do you think we might be able to go back and look for my hat?”
“Your hat—” he practically choked out. “You want to go back for a hat?”
“And my sunglasses.” She dusted off her pants and moved to walk past him, but he held up an arm to stop her.
“Absolutely not.”
Emma placed her hands on her hips. “And why not? The hat doesn’t belong to me, and I need those glasses. I can’t just…” She swallowed back her confession. He’d think it weird if she couldn’t walk through town without them. He’d probably ask her why she was wearing them out in the evening when there was barely any light to speak of.
“You can’t what? Because I can tell you what you can’t do. You can’t go traipsing all over these acres looking for a literal needle in a haystack. It’s not going to happen—especially if you’re not willing to get back on that horse.”
Her eyes narrowed. “I need those glasses.”
“Then get some new ones.”
“I can’t.” She swallowed hard. There was a ninety-nine percent chance that someone would recognize her if she walked into a shop in town. Not only that, but she didn’t have enough money to spare for another pair, even a cheap one.
“Why not?”
“You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me.”
She contemplated telling him a lie—that they held sentimental value to her. But the chances that they’d find the pair broken or missing a lens were pretty high as well. Instead, she opted for nothing. “It’s none of your business. I’m going to look for them with or without you.” She attempted once more to move past him but couldn’t get around him.
“If they’re that important, I’ll give you mine. They’re in my truck, so we’ll have to head back.” His voice was firm, unyielding. He wasn’t going to budge on this front, and a pair of his sunglasses was better than no pair at all.
Emma sighed. “Fine.”
“Good. Now get on that horse.”
“Absolutely not,” she used his words against him.
He groaned. “I’m not walking the whole way.”
“You don’t have to.” She folded her arms with a grin. “I’m happy to walk beside my horse. You can ride yours.”
Caleb threw his head back and groaned. “Why are you being so difficult?”
“Am I? I thought I was just being assertive.”
He set his narrowed gaze on her. “You’re clearly not prepared to ride, and yet you got on one in the first place. You couldn’t stop her. Then you made matters worse by holding on the reins too tight?—”
“It’s not my fault!” she shot back. “No one told me that’s what a horse would do when it saw a snake.”
His brows shot up. “A snake.”
“Yeah. And Sophia definitely didn’t tell me that it would buck me off. I thought I needed to pull back on the reins to get her to…”
He was fighting a smile. She didn’t know what he found so amusing about all of this, especially when he was acting like he didn’t approve of her actions whatsoever.
Emily folded her arms tight across her chest. “Anyway, that’s why I’m not riding her again. I don’t need to. I’d rather stretch my legs anyway.”
“And you’re not going to change your mind.” His voice was a little softer this time—almost kind.
“Nope.”
“Then I guess I’m walking too.”
She was taken aback by his statement. “You don’t have to?—”
“I know.”
Emma smiled. “I see that even the grumpy ones can be chivalrous.”
“No, chivalry would be to put you in the saddle and teach you a thing or two about horses so you don’t break your neck next time.”
She snickered. “I don’t think that’s going to happen.”
“Not at this rate,” he murmured, his own charming smile starting to tug at his lips. Caleb nodded to the horses. “Get your reins. We’re going to have to get started if we want to make it back before nightfall.” They walked only a few yards before he turned toward her. “So, Emily, is it?”
Emma froze. Right. She’d given Sophia that name, and she’d used it in front of him. It wasn’t that she was tempted to give him the name she preferred to go by, but it was like there was an itch in her chest warning her that she needed to be cautious. “Yeah,” she whispered. “Emily.”
“Emily…” he drawled. “Is there a last name to go with it?”
“Do you have a last name?” she said far too quickly.
“Keagan.”
“Keagan,” she mulled the name over, liking the way it felt saying it out loud. “I like it.”
“And you? Emily, what?”
She contemplated teasing him, withholding it so she’d have more control over their conversation. But ultimately, she chose not to. Caleb struck her as the kind of guy who wouldn’t take kindly to her trying to control the situation. “It’s Hart—Hartford.” Dang it! She’d nearly given herself away. “Hartford,” she murmured again.
“Well, Emily Hartford. I wish we could have learned each other’s names under better circumstances.”
“I don’t know.” She smiled. “I kind of like the way we met.” The only thing she didn’t really like was how strange it was hearing him use her given name when everyone around her used her stage name.
They continued in silence for a while longer. She took the opportunity to glance in his direction and study him a bit more. He was handsome; she had to give him that. His jawline was the kind that would put the David sculpture to shame. The way his blue eyes drilled into her and set her on edge was another issue entirely to explore. Normally, she felt confident in every situation she put herself in.
Granted, this whole runaway-horse thing had really messed with her head. Maybe when her heart stopped racing, she’d be able to rationalize how she was feeling.
Caleb’s eyes cut to hers at one point, catching her staring, and his expression hardened. “What?” he demanded.
“Nothing,” she said as sweetly as she could. “It’s just… are all cowboys as handsome as you?”
She couldn’t help but love the way Caleb froze. He must not flirt with women often—or maybe he was already taken and now he’d have to explain to his girlfriend that a strange woman had hit on him. She bit back a laugh and turned her face away from him. “Sorry.” Emma didn’t know if he heard her apology or not. It didn’t really matter at this point. Things had grown awkward and there was no salvaging it.
By the time they made it to the barn, Emma had nearly forgotten about the glasses. But then Caleb ordered her to stay put near the entrance to the structure while he ran off toward a truck that was parked a good thirty yards away. He opened the passenger side door, dug around in his truck for a moment, then withdrew and shut the door behind him. Caleb jogged back toward her and held out a pair of aviator sunglasses—ones that would nearly cover her whole face.
They were perfect.
Emma glanced up at him with a small smile. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“Don’t mention it.” He reached for her horse’s reins. “I’ll take care of her. You can head out. And I’ll tell Sophia about the hat.”
She blinked several times. Not only had he been listening to her, but he’d also remembered what she’d been worried about. “Thank you,” she repeated.
He pushed past her, and she spun to watch him disappear inside the barn.