Chapter 8
Dustin stood in the shadows of the indoor corral and watched Silver interact with the last client of the day—a fourteen-year-old boy with cerebral palsy.
She was leading him on a gentle Norwegian Fjord gelding, Cupid. The name was ridiculous, but Dustin wasn’t surprised because she’d always been romantic at heart.
“You’re doing great, Micah,” she called out.
An occupational therapist, Linda, and an assistant walked on either side of Cupid and Micah. Even though the teenager was strapped into the special saddle securely, the staff members were taking every precaution to keep him safe while he spent time with the horse.
The barn was spacious, modern, and immaculate, having every amenity possible—heating and air conditioning, plumbing, electricity, restrooms, and even vending machines.
Dustin liked his position because he had a clear view of the handicap-accessible main entrance, the entire corral, the outer doors that opened to one of the paddocks, and the hallway leading to the wing of the barn that contained the horse stalls.
Basically, he could see everything that was going on and keep track of every person who was coming.
Even though he’d grown up on a ranch, he wasn’t all that familiar with equine therapy.
He’d heard of it, but today had been his first time seeing the nuts and bolts of what it entailed.
Some of the patients had come for psychotherapy, using the horses to help with sensory and emotional issues.
Others, like Micah, were there for physical assistance—gaining balance, strengthening posture, learning trunk and head control, and more.
While Silver hadn’t needed to be present—could have left the day-to-day operations and therapy up to her staff—she’d warmly greeted each family upon arrival, made each client feel welcome, and encouraged them throughout their session.
She also loved the horses and interacted with them almost as frequently as she did the clients, lavishing them with praise and pet names and hugs.
He’d grown more curious as the afternoon had progressed about why she’d chosen to open the ranch and devote her time to equine therapy.
When he’d read her history in the file before arriving yesterday, he’d noted that she’d graduated from college with a major in business and had also gotten her real estate license.
He supposed she was using her business degree to some extent while running the ranch.
But she wasn’t following in her father’s footsteps by overseeing his expansive real estate empire, which had made him one of the richest men in Colorado.
Had she originally intended to take over for him but decided to focus on the ranch instead?
Regardless of his curiosity, Dustin had kept to himself and avoided contact with her all day.
After her declaration last night in her bedroom about how he wasn’t fine and it was up to her to show him that, he’d been wary.
He’d expected her to insist that he follow her around like an assistant, help her with every task, and engage in conversation with her.
Thankfully, she’d left him alone, and he’d been able to stick to the sidelines, where he felt most comfortable. Especially today, he hadn’t wanted her to know just how closely he was watching her and have her conclude he was interested in her beyond the bounds of his job.
Because he wasn’t interested in her except for protecting her and solving her case. The fact that he’d gained a new appreciation for what she was doing didn’t mean anything.
She brought Cupid to a standstill. Then, with a wide smile lighting up her features, she returned to Micah and lifted a hand to high-five him. The young man was hardly able to give her a fist bump. But he was smiling too, the pleasure of the horse ride radiating from his thin, misshapen body.
“You rocked it, kid!” Today she wore a light-blue Stetson over her hair, which was gathered back into a long ponytail. She had on a matching light-blue leather vest over a white button-down shirt rolled up at the sleeves, paired with dark jeans and white cowboy boots.
Even though the outfit was impractical for a working ranch, her sense of style worked for her.
And while he didn’t want to acknowledge how pretty she looked in the outfit, he hadn’t been able to keep from admiring her all afternoon.
She was a fine, fine-looking woman. There was no sense in denying it.
Even as he acknowledged that fact again, his gaze strayed to the way the jeans hugged her backside—perfectly proportioned, perfectly curved, perfectly rounded.
And his blood heated as it had every other time he’d let himself look there.
Of course, he was immediately flooded with the desire to wrap his hands around her and let himself feel those curves.
Shoot. He gave himself a mental slap and tore his attention away from her. What was he doing? Not only was he lusting, but he was letting himself get distracted by her beauty . . . and that was something he’d sworn he wouldn’t do.
This was why he didn’t guard women. Because deep inside, he knew he was a weak man when it came to resisting an attractive woman, especially one like Silver.
He pressed his thumbs into his temples and forced his mind back to his duties.
He scanned the perimeter of the corral. A barn cat was perched on a bench next to Micah’s mother and was licking a paw.
A swallow had flown in the open barn door and was attempting to build a nest in a rafter.
And the ranch hands were coming down the hallway from the stalls.
Nolan was the young guy with the slicked-back hair, large mole on his chin, and gaudy gold chain. Tobias was older, sixty-three, with thinning gray hair and a protruding lower lip—probably from all the chewing tobacco he’d used over the years.
Nolan had his eyes on Silver too . . . on her butt.
A growl of protest formed from somewhere deep inside Dustin. That guy wasn’t supposed to be checking out Silver every time he came near. That wasn’t fair to Silver to objectify her. And Dustin was chastising himself for doing the same thing.
But in an instant, the images of her from last night came rushing back, from when she’d stepped out of her bathroom in her skimpy pjs and the thin robe that barely covered her.
His blood had jumped a degree hotter then too.
She had incredibly sexy legs—toned and tanned.
Every inch of them had been showing, down to the tiny tattoo of a horseshoe on her ankle.
When he’d seen the tattoo, a strange longing had pierced him and had nearly taken away his breath. He’d forced himself to turn away from her and start inspecting her room to distract himself.
The simple truth was that Silver was gorgeous. No matter how hard he was trying not to dwell on her, he was anyway.
Maybe he’d been a fool to think he could come here and keep the walls he’d built from crumbling down. Maybe he was a fool to think he could ignore all the things she made him feel. Maybe he was a fool to think he could keep his attraction from sparking to life.
He released a taut breath. The only thing to do was call Killian and tell him to send a replacement. But did he really want another man, like Bryant or Granger, here lusting over her? They were both single guys too, and they wouldn’t hesitate to look at her.
No, the fact was, Dustin needed to stay and finish the job. He just had to keep himself under control. He could do that, couldn’t he? He’d always prided himself on having such good self-control, and now it was time to use it.
He pushed up from the wall, straightened his shoulders, and checked his tablet with the schedule Silver had given Isaac earlier.
Now that she was done with clients, she had a manicure and pedicure in Boulder at a salon.
Once she was done with that, she was going in her personal helicopter to dinner with a couple of girlfriends at a posh rooftop restaurant in Denver that overlooked the city and provided sunset views.
Dustin hadn’t wanted her to visit any of her usual spots or hangouts just in case her stalker knew about them and might try something. But Silver had insisted she would be fine and that she couldn’t rearrange her whole life for the stalker.
Dustin had almost canceled her evening plans, but when Isaac had reminded him they were being paid a huge bonus for this job because of their skills, Dustin had caved.
Yes, it would be easier to make her hide away.
But they weren’t being paid for doing an easy job, and they needed to earn that bonus.
Isaac had spent the afternoon doing an advance by visiting both the salon and the restaurant, looking at exits, entrances, parking lots, table layouts, and cataloging the details so that Dustin would have all the information he needed when he accompanied Silver later.
Dustin had already read through Isaac’s notes about the salon, and he planned to read the notes about the rooftop restaurant once he was in the chopper.
Silver spent a few more minutes saying goodbye to Micah and his family. Then she talked to her therapist and the other staff member. Finally, with a cheerful goodbye, Silver began to cross to him.
He hadn’t realized she even knew he was there. But obviously she’d been aware of where he was.
A momentary sense of satisfaction sifted through him.
She lifted a hand in greeting and offered him a smile. Her smiles were always so pretty, lighting up her face and adding to her appeal.
“Hey!” she called. “What did you think of everything?”
He was tempted to tell her that kind of question went beyond the scope of client-bodyguard relations. But he didn’t have the heart to do so—not when she was so genuine and had truly impressed him.
He pushed away from the cement wall. “What you’re doing here is incredible.”
“Do you really think so?” Her voice held a note of insecurity even as she let her gaze rake over him.
“Yes, it’s obvious your clients love the horses and are benefiting from them.”