Chapter 7 #2
In a gesture she found completely endearing, he mimicked her, counting off his fingers.
‘The coffee is behind the door labelled STAFF ONLY,’ he replied.
‘Nobody will mind you going anywhere you want, and if that happens to be the stables, then it’s the stables.
And I didn’t know that preferring animals to people was a stage. Here I thought it was just fact.’
Nina laughed, but she turned in the direction of the coffee. ‘Can I get you a cup?’
He roped one arm over his saddle, leaned against Zephyr, his eyes intensely focused on her. ‘I would have really liked that, but I can’t just yet. Gotta head home quick, get Poppy ready for daycare. But if I see you around here later, I’ll help you with Barbie.’
Nina wasn’t entirely sure why she was disappointed, or why, as she watched him fluidly mount Zephyr, she felt like he was taking her safety net with him. Suddenly, the barn felt too big, too dark, too unfamiliar.
She stopped walking and looked around, searching the quiet.
‘Nina.’
‘Hmm?’ she replied distractedly.
‘Listen,’ he said.
‘What?’
‘Listen,’ he repeated, and tapped his ear.
She strained to hear over the sound of her racing heart and managed to pick out the talking and laughing, punctuated by the occasional whistle.
‘You hear that?’
‘Yes.’
‘The wranglers are bringing the pastured riding horses in for the day. In thirty seconds, this place is going to be teeming with people, not one of whom would let anything happen to you.’
Even as he finished talking, a man rode in.
Nina blinked once as she took in horse and rider and tried to decide which one was more beautiful. The man was tall and lean with blond hair the colour of antique gold and piercing green eyes. Like Maverick, he wore a ball cap over his shaggy hair.
The horse he was on was champagne coloured with an impossibly long black mane and a tail that, even braided, dragged on the ground behind its hind legs.
‘Morning.’ The stranger sent her a megawatt smile. ‘Didn’t know anyone was up yet. Early riser?’
‘Bad sleeper,’ she replied.
‘Benji, Nina. Nina, Benji.’
The man – Benji – only rolled his eyes. ‘Unlike you, Mav, I know who Nina Keller is.’
Nina’s eyes swung to Maverick.
He legitimately blushed. ‘I don’t watch many movies,’ he explained, ‘and when I do, they have to be suitable for a five-year-old.’
‘Hence Barbie,’ she replied, unoffended.
‘Yeah.’
Benji watched the back-and-forth with interest. ‘You two get a ride in, then?’
‘Yup,’ Maverick replied. He nodded in Nina’s direction. ‘Girl can sit a horse.’
Benji seemed genuinely surprised. ‘Really? She sure looks like a city slicker with all those pretty clothes.’
Nina looked down at her jeans and flimsy white blouse, both of which were covered in dust and black horsehair.
‘She’ll be riding circles around you by the time she leaves.
’ Maverick shifted slightly, sending Zephyr forward without so much as a click.
‘She’s going to hang around, have some coffee and see to the new rescue – Barbie.
Show her the ropes.’ He looked at Nina, nodded once, and though his last words were directed at Benji, Nina knew they were meant to remind her that she wouldn’t be left alone.
‘Don’t let her out of your sight. It’s bad publicity if a celebrity gets hurt. ’
Benji caught on fast. He turned a killer grin in her direction. ‘Ma’am, did you sign the liability waiver?’
Nina replied, ‘On the dotted line.’ But she watched Maverick ride out of the dark barn and into the sunlight, his posture relaxed, natural, and thought she might just team up with Markus to try and convince him to be in the photoshoot. Not only for womankind everywhere – but for her.
She’d have Markus sneak her a one-of-a-kind shot.
She’d have it blown up, printed, and framed, so that years from now, when people saw the rugged cowboy with gentle eyes looking at them from her living-room wall and asked her who he was, she could say, ‘The man who taught me how to ride a horse.’ And though she wouldn’t say it, she felt the first flickers of her old self pushing through the numbness and knew he was also the man who had reminded her that kindness in small gestures mattered.
Maverick had had no obligation to waste his valuable time teaching an unscheduled ride but he had. And in doing that one small thing, he had given her something she hadn’t been able to muster in over seven days.
He’d given her hope.
Because while she’d been up on that horse, she hadn’t relived the attack or the after-effects.
She hadn’t suffered the extreme anxiety over her career ending or what she would do when it did.
She had thought about nothing but staying in the saddle, had done nothing but focus on steering the horse and listening to Maverick talk about his home and his family.
And it had been so lovely, to just be present.
Nina hadn’t realized before the assault how important it was to simply exist in time and space without the trauma from the past dragging you back and the anxiety for the future pulling you frantically in the opposite direction, without the worry that what you had suffered had permanently altered who you were and what you were capable of becoming.
But she knew now.
So, she appreciated Maverick Hunt’s small gesture. He had reminded her that somewhere, deep inside, the woman she had been still existed.
By the time Maverick had gotten Poppy up, dressed, fed, and to daycare, he was running behind on almost everything he was supposed to have done that morning. But even though he was pushed for time, he couldn’t bring himself to regret his impromptu decision to take Nina for a ride.
He’d meant what he’d told Benji: she could sit a horse.
She had a natural seat, her hands and hips following the horse’s movements instinctively.
Once he’d given her basic instructions, she’d run with them and hadn’t needed his help once.
And perhaps the biggest point in her favour, she seemed to genuinely love the horses.
Maverick would remember the way her face had lit up when she’d taken those first steps on Zeph for a long time.
He thought about her as he walked back to the barn to check in on everything, hoped in the back of his mind that she would still be there when he got in.
She wasn’t.
But he found Benji in the tack room, setting aside the saddles and bridles for the eleven o’clock lessons and trail ride. ‘I already told June Morgan she could be on Spirit,’ he said.
Benji didn’t pause in what he was doing. ‘I had him brought in for one of the kids anyway. I’ll make sure she gets him.’
‘Nina Keller do okay this morning?’
Benji shot a grin over his shoulder. ‘I figured it would take you longer to work your way back there.’ He waggled his eyebrows. ‘If it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, she looked at you plenty too.’
Maverick didn’t take the bait. He couldn’t hide anything from Benji, so denying he was attracted wouldn’t work. He didn’t even try it. He simply ignored it.
Mav sat down in a nearby chair, taking the five minutes to be off his feet. ‘Found her sleeping on the porch just after five. She woke up gasping for breath like a fish outta water. And those bruises … I couldn’t leave her there.’
‘You’re a bleeding heart, son.’
No point in denying it. ‘Yeah.’
Benji looked at Mav, frowned. ‘You’re genuinely worried?’
‘Sierra said they didn’t catch the guy.’
‘I know.’
Mav leaned back in his chair. ‘It’s been bothering me. I mean, she gets beaten within an inch of her life and is here a week later without a single bodyguard, even though we all know she could easily afford it. She’s still scared – anyone can see that. So, why no protection?’
‘I don’t know.’ Benji took Spirit’s bridle from its hook, placed it on the table with the rest. ‘Maybe she figures it was just some crazy, and that we’re too remote.
I checked her Instagram. The last post was a month ago, on the set of the new film she’s working on.
Shadowlands. There was no news on her or the assault, so she hasn’t told anyone she’s here. ’
‘Hopefully none of our guests do either.’ But he also had to ask, ‘Why were you checking her social media?’
‘Relax, Cassanova,’ Benji teased. ‘It’s how modern human beings satiate their curiosity.
If you’d ever had even a Facebook account, you’d know this.
’ When Mav had nothing to say to that, Benji added, ‘Could you just open an Instagram account so that I can send you socially relevant memes instead of trying to explain over a decade of internet history to you?’
‘Negative.’
Benji sighed. ‘Well, could you at least watch one of her movies?’
‘She any good?’ Mav asked, though they both knew he would have watched one even if she wasn’t.
‘Incredible.’
‘Which one should I watch?’
‘Oh, Dogs of Despair. Definitely.’
‘Gonna guess that’s not suitable for Poppy? I’ll fit it in,’ Mav replied, and turned the conversation back to the problem at hand. ‘I can’t keep an eye on her twenty-four hours a day. But when she’s here and I’m not, I’m making her your responsibility.’
‘You’re that worried?’
‘Yeah, I am. Something doesn’t sit right. And all I know is that she definitely got hurt, she’s definitely famous, and she definitely doesn’t have security.’ Mav pushed to his feet. ‘You don’t have to baby her. I don’t want her to feel like she’s being watched. Just keep one eye on her.’
‘Sure thing, boss. But you realize, you could just ask her about it?’
Mav assessed the bridles on the table, cross-referencing each with the horse it belonged to and the list of guests from that day’s sign-up sheet.
Benji had things under control – as always.
But it didn’t quite ease Mav’s mind; it was just another reminder that Benji would leave Hunt Ranch soon.
He didn’t bring it up, knowing that Benji was doing what he had to to survive.
‘I thought about it. But I don’t want to put her through it again. She’s here to recuperate.’
‘You don’t have to ask her for the intimate details,’ Benji argued. ‘Just ask her how vigilant we need to be.’
‘Maybe.’ But it didn’t sit well with Mav. Pain should be shared willingly, otherwise it was just prying. ‘There’s one other thing I wanted to talk to you about.’
‘I’m listening.’
Mav shifted. ‘I’m going to start looking around for your replacement soon. That way you can train them before you go.’
Benji’s grin faded instantly. ‘Yeah,’ he said regretfully.
Maverick hated to bring it up. He would rather have cut out his own heart than hurt either Sierra or Benji.
Still, Hunt Ranch had to run, and Mav was the one responsible for making sure that it ran smoothly.
‘When I do, Sierra is going to have questions. Do you want me to tell her? Or is that something you want to do yourself?’
‘I should do it. God knows if I don’t, it’ll just be another thing she blames me for.’
Maverick didn’t even deny it. ‘I won’t advertise for the job until you give me the green light then.’
‘Thanks, Mav.’
‘Don’t thank me. If it was up to me, you wouldn’t be going at all.’
‘But you understand why I have to.’
Mav sighed sadly. ‘Yeah. Yeah, I do.’
With a final nod, Benji got back to work. ‘I’ll keep an eye on Nina when she’s around.’
‘Thank you.’
Benji only pointed at him. ‘Dogs of Despair.’
‘I’ll watch it,’ Mav promised.