Chapter 8
Over the next few days, Maverick tried not to worry about Nina and whatever had happened to her.
Which should have been easy enough, except for the fact that she spent most of her mornings down at the barn, helping with the horses, taking lessons, and spending time with Barbie, so she was always in his line of sight and always in his thoughts.
He told himself it was none of his business, and then found himself talking loudly every time he approached her so that he didn’t startle her.
He told himself that she would have hired security if she’d thought she’d needed it, and then wondered why the hell she hadn’t when she was still so clearly terrified.
He reminded himself that she wasn’t there for him to ogle, but kept finding his eyes turning in her direction.
Maverick couldn’t help it. He really liked the way she moved, like a butterfly, all dainty and quick, and the way she mindfully slowed her fluttering when she was working with the horses.
He liked that she had traded her pretty blouses for Hunt Ranch T-shirts she had bought in the gift shop, and that she didn’t seem to care when she left the barn covered in dust and hair and sweat.
But the fact that he noticed her, the fact that he knew that she was intelligent and capable of making her own decisions, didn’t automatically stop the worry.
Even at that moment, he was sitting on the picnic bench in the guests’ waiting area in front of the barn, cleaning tack in front of everyone instead of doing it in the tack room because he wanted to keep an eye on her.
He saw the way the other guests whispered and fawned over her, watched them as they summed up the courage to ask her for a picture or an autograph.
And instead of admiring the way she always seemed so happy and flattered to be talking to them, he noticed the way her smile dimmed and her shoulders rounded the moment they walked away.
And in those quiet moments when she didn’t realize that he was watching her, he saw the defeat and devastation in her. And it crushed him.
Maverick knew what it was to feel that way, as if the weight of your everyday had become too heavy to carry.
When Shannon had left, he’d felt that gaping emptiness and, worse, guilt.
As if the pain of abandonment hadn’t been bad enough, every time he’d run into an acquaintance and they’d asked him to give his best to Shannon, he’d had to explain, repeatedly, that she’d left him, and telling people that had felt like sharing his shortcomings with the world over and over again.
He’d only been saved by Poppy, who hadn’t given him the opportunity or, quite frankly, the time, to focus on his pain so much.
And, still, despite Nina’s sadness, on the rare occasion she laughed, all he could do was stop what he was doing and listen.
Maybe because she seemed so sad all the time, so her laugh, which was bright and quick, threw him off.
Maybe because he liked the sound of it, almost as if she had surprised herself with it too.
Whatever it was, Mav tried not to overthink it.
As his thoughts circled around her, he raised his eyes and saw her standing in the stall with Barbie, one hand firmly stroking the horse’s neck as she whispered something to the animal.
‘Think she’ll take that horse with her when she leaves?’
Maverick went back to cleaning and oiling the tack as his sister took a seat on the bench opposite him. ‘Maybe. She’s got a soft spot for her.’
‘God knows she has the money to board her in LA.’
Maverick didn’t have anything to say to that. When he looked at Nina, he didn’t see her wealth.
‘Did you need me?’ he asked, knowing Sierra didn’t willingly come down to the barn much anymore.
‘It’s about Nina, actually,’ she replied, lowering her voice.
Mav went on alert instantly, but he didn’t speak, only waited patiently.
‘She’s been putting the “Do Not Disturb” sign on the door every day, so housekeeping hasn’t been into her cabin since she arrived.’
Maverick considered that for a moment. ‘It’s not completely unheard of. People like their privacy.’
‘I wouldn’t particularly care if she went the entire stay without changing the sheets once,’ Sierra said. ‘But yesterday she didn’t put the sign on the door. I’m assuming she forgot.’
‘Okay …’
‘Housekeeping said she’s been sleeping in the bathtub, Mav.’
He put down the bridle he was cleaning, angled his head to look at Nina, who had picked up a brush to groom Barbie. In that moment, she looked at peace. Happy. ‘You think she’s afraid?’
‘I do. The bathroom is the only room with a secure lock. The others are more for display …’
It crushed him to think about how she must look every night as she curled up in the bathtub, so small and alone and scared. ‘You sure?’
‘Carmen told me the comforter and pillow were both in there, and that her laptop was shut on the ledge.’ Sierra let that sink in. ‘After Carmen spoke to me, I asked around. Do you know how many times she’s made it up to the resort to eat?’
‘I’m guessing zero?’
‘She’s ordered food to her room three times. That’s it. Three meals total – in five days.’
Maverick sighed. That worry he’d been harbouring reared its ugly head. ‘What do you want me to do?’
‘I need you to talk to her, see if there’s anything we can do to make her feel more comfortable. Christ, Mav, for the price she’s paying for that cabin we could hire an armed wrangler to stand outside at night if it’d make her feel safe.’
‘Yeah.’ But he thought about the impending conversation. ‘You don’t think she’d feel more comfortable talking to you?’
Sierra only raised both her eyebrows. ‘Being a woman and all?’ she drawled sarcastically.
‘It matters,’ he countered quietly. ‘Given what she’s been through, it matters.’
Sierra sighed. ‘Maybe. But rumour has it you two have been spending a lot of time together, and if I were in her position I’d prefer it to come from someone I was at least acquainted with.’
‘Yeah, I’ve been worried about her,’ he admitted.
‘You think he’ll come back?’
‘I don’t know. That’s why I’m worried. If we had more information, we would know what additional security measures we’d need to take, if any. But as it stands, she’s here completely alone.’ Mav sighed deeply when he thought about the impending conversation. ‘That doesn’t sit well with me.’
‘Well, if you have the conversation, I’ll have concierge sort whatever she needs.’
‘I’m shit with words.’
‘No, you’re not. You just don’t like to talk. There’s a difference.’
‘Fuck.’
Sierra gave him a double thumbs up before pushing to her feet. She checked her watch, sighed. ‘I better get back. But let me know what she says.’ She turned to go.
‘You don’t want to say hi to Ty?’ he asked.
Sierra stopped. Her spine went rigid. But she didn’t turn around. ‘I don’t have time today.’
‘It’s not the horse’s fault he was a gift from Benji,’ Maverick reminded her, gently pushing even though he’d known she’d refuse.
‘I know,’ Sierra replied. But she didn’t say more, and she didn’t look back towards Ty’s stall either even though the horse had popped his head over the door at the sound of her voice.
Maverick watched her go, and instead of feeling angry, all he felt was regret.
He waited for the twelve o’clock lunch break before approaching Nina because he wanted privacy for the conversation and because it had become somewhat routine for them to be the only ones left in the barn when the wranglers went to the staff quarters to eat.
Nina stood alone by the main arena, one booted foot on the lowest rung, looking out at the ranch.
‘I saw you finally managed to groom Barbie,’ he said loudly as he drew closer to her.
She still jumped. Only a bit. But he saw it, that quick jerk in her muscles before she realized it was him and calmed.
She looked over her shoulder at him. ‘Yeah.’ A ghost of a smile haunted her lips, though her eyes stayed so sad.
‘It took me most of the morning and she somehow still looks dirty, but Benji said it was still good progress.’
‘It is.’ Mav stopped a few feet from her. ‘Her wounds are mostly superficial, so we can give her a bath as soon as she’s feeling more at home. Maybe in a day or two after the vet comes.’
‘Why hasn’t the vet been already?’
He didn’t hear judgement, only curiosity.
‘I won’t ask my vet or farrier to come see rescues I haven’t had time to settle.
It’s not their job to try and calm or manage feral animals.
It’s mine. Barbie needs to be calm enough to be handled safely by a stranger.
’ He leaned his forearms on the rails, placed his own foot on the rung out of habit.
‘You did that,’ he said. ‘You spent time desensitizing her to humans, and you relieved me of a lot of work. Thank you.’
Nina rested her chin in her hand. She smiled. ‘I’m enjoying myself. It’s cathartic.’ Her smile dimmed. ‘It’s helped to keep my mind occupied …’
Mav held his breath, hoping that she’d share more, but she seemed to catch herself, and when she fell silent again, he used it as a segue. ‘I’ve been meaning to talk to you about that …’
Nina turned those dark, wary eyes on him.
Christ, here we go, Mav thought. But he jumped right in. ‘Yesterday you forgot to put the “Do Not Disturb” sign on your door.’
He didn’t have to say more. Nina shook her head on a sigh and turned away as if she’d known her slip would come back to haunt her.
‘If you want me to shut up at any time, you tell me.’ When she didn’t reply, didn’t even look at him, Mav took two steps closer.
He reached out and gently turned her face back in his direction.
The tears in her eyes devastated him, but he pushed, knowing that he wouldn’t find the courage to attempt the conversation a second time.
‘But until you do tell me to shut up, I have some things to say. Okay?’
A tiny nod was the only indication that she was listening.