Chapter 6
Hunter
After I finish tacking up Molls and Lucky, my dad’s gelding, I turn to Theo. “You ready?”
He’s biting his lip again, but he nods. “Ready as I’ll ever be. What if she doesn’t like me and she throws me off her? That’s something horses do, right?”
I nod. “Yeah, but Molls won’t, I promise. I wouldn’t put you on her if it wasn’t safe. She’s great with newbies.”
“Alright then.”
I grin. “First things first.” Grabbing a helmet off the wall, I hold it out to him. “Helmet.”
His nose scrunches. “Are you serious?”
“Yes, sir. Brains are important. I’m real fond of mine, and we gotta take care of yours too.”
He huffs out a laugh, so I step closer and slip it onto his head, tightening the strap. My fingertips brush his jaw, and he stills, so I pull back quickly. “Too tight?”
He shakes his head.
“Perfect. Hang tight.”
I lead Molls to the mounting block, then wave Theo closer. “Step on up.”
He eyes me warily. “She’s not gonna freak out?”
I run a hand down her neck. “Nope.”
After stepping onto the block, he looks at me, waiting for me to tell him what’s next.
“Hand here.” I tap the saddle horn. “Other hand on the back of the saddle. Then just push up and swing your right leg over.”
He pauses, turning wide eyes on me. “What if I fall?”
“You won’t. But I’ll catch you if you do.” His eyes dart all over my face. “I promise, and hey, you’ve got a helmet on, so at least you won’t damage your brain if you do.”
That gets a small laugh out of him. He gives a single, resolute nod, then pushes up and swings his leg over. He inhales sharply, tipping a little too far to the right, and I reach out, steadying his thigh until he’s centered.
His breath gets caught in his lungs, his body tense. “Fuck, I’m on a horse.”
I can’t help but chuckle. “You’re on a horse. Breathe. Relax.” He exhales slowly, letting his shoulders drop. “There you go. Now feet in the stirrups to the balls of your feet, and heels down.”
I help him since it can be confusing for new riders, and then I check the stirrups, adjusting them so his legs sit naturally. “Sit tall, but not stiff. Let your hips move with her, but try not to squeeze her sides because that’ll tell her it’s time to go.”
He’s got a death grip on the saddle horn, but he’s doing great for a first-timer. “Easy for you to say,” he grumbles. “I bet you’ve been doing this since you could walk.”
I wink at him. “Pretty close to it. Just turn your brain off and let her lead you.”
Taking the reins, I start walking her forward, letting him get used to the feel of her under him. Theo makes a small squeaking noise, so I turn to look at him. “You good up there?”
He’s staring down at Molls in awe. “Yeah. Holy fuck, I’m riding a horse.”
“You sure are.” I shake my head with a laugh. “Give it some time, and you’ll be a regular ol’ country boy too.”
The smile on his face is damn near enough to stop my heart.
I clear my throat and step back, making my way to Lucky. “Alright, let’s go check on the cows.”
Theo makes a sputtering sound. “You’re leaving me?”
“No.” I gesture toward Lucky. “I’m just getting Lucky.”
Lucky’s ears flick back and forth as I lead him to the mounting block, and I run my hand along his neck. “I know, bud, I miss Dad too.”
I swing into the saddle, and when I turn to glance at Theo, he’s staring at me, wide-eyed.
“You made that look easy.”
“I have been doing it for a long time. Stick around and you’ll be a pro in no time.”
Something passes across his face, there and gone so quickly, I could almost say I imagined it. “Not sure that I have… however many years old you are to learn.”
“I’m twenty-five.” He makes a face that has me laughing. “What’s that face about?”
“You don’t seem twenty-five.”
I put my hand over my chest in mock outrage. “What, am I aging poorly?”
He shakes his head. “Not at all. You just carry yourself like someone with more life experience, is all.”
That makes me grin. “Are you ready to go check on the cows?”
He nods slowly. “What do I need to do?” Glancing down at Molls, his eyebrows draw together. “I’ve never done this before, you know.”
“I know.” I make a clicking sound with my tongue, and Lucky starts walking. “Molls is good. She knows where to go. She’ll follow.”
Just like I said, she does, keeping pace right behind me. Theo gasps when we’re out of the barn, so I glance over my shoulder at him. “You okay?”
He nods, hands tight as hell on the saddle horn. “Yeah, we’re just… moving.”
“We are.” He’s so stiff, so I chuckle. “Relax, Theo. Let your hips move with her. Quit fighting her.”
“I’m not fighting her.” I snort, and he laughs too. “Okay, maybe I am.”
“You are. Relax into it. Move with her.”
He finally seems to get the hang of it, and we make our way across the field. Molls does this every morning with me, and we’re usually moving much faster than this, but just like I knew she would, she’s taking good care of Theo.
The barns slip into the distance as we head into rolling pastures. I don’t have to do much with the cows. Just check on them and make sure they’re alright. It’s funny that I thought I’d take a nap today. Part of me just wants to hang out with Theo all day instead.
“This is peaceful,” Theo says, pulling me from my thoughts.
“It is. I love it. Nothing else like it.”
We approach the cow fence, and Theo gasps again. “Holy shit. There are so many.”
I chuckle. “Yeah, about two hundred head.”
I lead Lucky along a small path next to the fence. I need to get him out more; he’s not being ridden as much since Dad passed.
“Everyone looks good here. We can head back now.”
“Actually,” Theo says, his voice trailing off, so I turn back to him. “Do you think we could stay out a little longer?”
I couldn’t wipe my smile away if I tried. “Course.”
Theo went to his room after breakfast, and I ended up feeding Lila by myself. It was nice to have the company this morning, but I also understand things might not be the easiest for him.
Given what he said about his energy levels and how he already wakes up exhausted, it was no surprise that he didn’t join me for the late-morning feed.
I shut the door to my bedroom, ready to crawl into bed and take a nap. Stripping off my jeans and pulling my t-shirt over my head, I crawl between the crisp sheets, my entire body relaxing.
Pulling the blankets up around me, I sink deeper into the mattress, closing my eyes. I’m pretty damn tired, so it’s no surprise when I start drifting off almost immediately. What is a surprise is the knock at my door.
I toss the blankets off in that weird state of almost asleep and pad to my door.
Theo is standing on the other side, and when he takes me in, his eyes widen. “Oh. I’m sorry.”
“Everything okay?” I ask, still half out of it.
He nods, eyes falling and then rising quickly, and my cheeks burn when I realize I’m standing here in my boxers. “Uh… Luca invited me to Daisy’s for lunch. Do you want to go with me?”
I rub a hand over my face, highly tempted to decline and climb my ass in bed, when he clears his throat.
“My ex—Damien—that’s, uh, that’s where Austin beat the shit out of him before he died. I’m sure you heard about that in a small town like this. I don’t know if I want to go alone.”
“And you want to go with me?”
He raises an eyebrow. “It’s not like I know Luca any better than I know you. If anything, I actually know you better.”
Well, shit. That’s fair. “Alright, I’ll go.”
My acceptance seems to shock him. “Really?”
I nod. “Yeah, give me a second to get dressed.”
“Oh.” His eyes fall again, and this time it’s his cheeks turning pink. “Alright, yeah. That’s a good point. Okay, I’ll just…”
I can’t help but laugh. “Come on in.”
He steps through the door without even a bit of hesitation, closing it behind him.
“Have a seat,” I say, gesturing toward my bed.
This time he does hesitate, but not for long before he sits down on the end and places his hands in his lap. “Thank you for agreeing to go with me.”
“Mmm.” I step into my closet, pulling out a nice pair of jeans and a button-up shirt. It’s not that the diner is particularly fancy, but Deb is a nice woman, and my momma taught me to show respect.
I step into my jeans, then pull on my shirt and button it up.
“I’m ready when you are,” I say, patting my thighs and glancing at Theo.
He clears his throat, standing up quickly. “Yeah, I’m ready.”
When Theo pulled up his GPS and started typing in the address Luca had given him, I offered to take him instead. He agreed, and now we’re driving toward town.
“It’s quiet here,” Theo says, glancing at the fields as we speed down the one and only highway in town.
“It is,” I agree.
“I like it. There’s all this space, and it’s so pretty.”
I can’t help but smile. “In a few weeks, the wildflowers will start blooming. It’s nice.”
Theo hums, and I pull into the diner parking lot, putting the truck in park.
He just sits there for a second, eyes forward.
“You nervous?” I ask.
He nods. “Sort of.”
“Deb and Luca are great.”
“Deb?”
“Austin’s mom. She owns the diner.”
He frowns. “That’s right. I think Luca mentioned something about that.”
“You ready to go in?”
Blowing out a breath through pursed lips, he nods. “As ready as I’m ever going to be.”
I turn the truck off, then climb out, and when I make it to the front, Theo is still sitting in the passenger seat.
His nervousness makes sense to me, especially given what happened here with Damien.
Part of me can’t see how Luca stomachs being here, but I’m happy for him.
I hated having to question him in the hospital.
I know Austin would never hurt someone without due cause. Hell, he’s a firefighter. If anything, he’s more likely to stop harm than cause it. Luca’s bruised face and Austin’s haunted eyes when I told him Damien had died still haunt my memories.
Shaking myself out of my thoughts, I step around the truck and open the passenger door.
“Come on.” I hold a hand out. “It’s gonna be fine. We’ll eat lunch and then head back to the farm. I don’t know about you, but I could use a nap.”
He tries for a smile, but it’s shaky and wrong, more a grimace than anything else. “I’ve felt good today; I’m kind of afraid if I take a nap, I’ll wake up wanting to go right back to sleep, or I just won’t wake up at all.”
Well, shit. “Okay, then. No nap. How about we feed Lila together again?”
“Okay,” he breathes, swallowing hard.
He glances at me, and I smile at him. “You’ve gotta get out of the truck first.”
He sighs. “Yeah, I know.”
Holding my hand out, I raise an eyebrow at him. He watches me for a second, then places his hand in mine, and I help him down from the truck.
“Do you want me to go in first?” I ask softly, and Theo nods quickly, his throat bobbing with a hard swallow.
It’s such a small thing to do, but if it makes him feel better, I have no problem with it at all.
I’m pulling open the door when Theo whispers a near-silent “Thank you.”