Chapter 3 #3
Brianna couldn’t help but smile wider at Gavin’s effortless charm; it was playful, safe.
‘Yeah, and she’s got enough steel to handle someone like you, too, boofhead,’ Hayden interjected, his voice laced with dry humour and a half-smile that landed right in her stomach.
‘Oh really? Is that a challenge?’ Gavin playfully squared his shoulders before bursting into laughter.
‘Careful,’ Brianna said, arching a brow. ‘I wrestle bulls before breakfast; you wouldn’t last five minutes.’
‘I already like her!’ Gavin declared with a hearty laugh.
‘Just watch it, or you’ll find yourself on the receiving end of her syringe,’ warned Hayden, though the twinkle in his eye gave away his jest.
‘But what a way to go, at the hands of an angel,’ Gavin retorted with a dramatic hand over his heart.
‘Angel with a needle,’ Brianna corrected, smirking. ‘And don’t you forget it.’
‘Never,’ Gavin assured her with mock solemnity. ‘Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have some fences to mend before the sun forgets what it’s doing.’
‘How thrilling,’ Brianna remarked wryly, the shared amusement edging them closer from being strangers to becoming friends.
‘Only the most exciting of tasks for me,’ Gavin responded with a theatrical flourish. ‘But fear not, you are in capable hands with Hayden here.’
‘Thanks, Gav,’ Hayden said with genuine gratitude. ‘We’ll catch up later.’
‘Looking forward to it,’ Gavin replied with a casual salute before spinning on his heel and disappearing down the aisle of stalls, his laughter lingering in the air like the scent of summer grass.
Brianna watched Gavin go, the warmth in her chest lingering like an ember fanned by laughter. Sweetwater Acres was more than just a workplace – it had the easy feel of a property built on loyalty, long days and a fair bit of cheek.
She turned back to Hayden, a smile still playing at her lips from their exchange. ‘You and Gavin make a good team,’ she said. ‘Bit of a double act, really.’
Hayden chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. ‘He’s a pain in the arse most days, but yeah, we’ve got each other’s backs.’ His easy smile hinting at playfulness, he met her gaze – steady, open and unguarded.
In that moment, with the scent of hay hanging warm in the air and the soft murmur of horses shifting in their stalls, Brianna felt something settle in her.
As if maybe, just maybe, she was exactly where she was meant to be.
As Hayden stepped to Bella’s side, his weathered hand moved with a gentle touch, caressing the mare’s flank. Brianna watched him bonding in a way that only a person who understood horses could.
‘I’m relieved she’s going to be okay,’ he murmured softly, as if confiding a sacred truth. ‘Bella’s my favourite, not that I should have one.’
‘She’s a beauty, and a tough cookie, that’s for sure.’ Brianna nodded. ‘And she and her little guy are a perfect example of why I love this job.’
‘You have to own a big heart for this work. Not everyone does.’ Hayden’s voice echoed softly in the quiet of the stable.
Brianna couldn’t help but smile at the gentle way this intriguing man communicated with Bella and Maverick.
It was one thing to know your job. It was another entirely to pour your heart and soul into it, and as she considered this, a feeling of kinship stirred within her as she recognised in Hayden the same endless well of empathy that she had.
‘I’d better get going,’ she said, more to herself than him. ‘Got another farm visit in half an hour.’
‘Yup, righto.’ Hayden nodded, stepping back but not away. ‘Thanks for checking in on them.’
‘Any time.’ She smiled in a very professional manner. ‘I’ll add the visit to the monthly bill.’
‘Yeah, that’s a given,’ he replied with that same easy smile as he walked her to the sunshine-lit doorway.
As she strolled back to her Hilux, boots crunching softly on the gravel, Brianna resisted the tug low in her spine, the urge to glance over her shoulder.
She didn’t need to. She knew he was still standing there.
She could feel his gaze like a slow burn between her shoulder blades, warm and steady, pulling at the threads she was trying hard not to unravel.
But she wouldn’t turn around.
Wouldn’t give in.
She had a grip on herself.
A damn tight one.
Even if the night before, in the quiet hours before dawn, she’d dreamed of him – of the moment they’d pulled Maverick into the world together.
The urgency, the shared breathless triumph.
But in her dream, he hadn’t let go of her hand.
Hadn’t looked away. He’d leant into her, and she into him.
And when she’d woken, her heart had been pounding like it meant something more. Like he meant something more.
She slammed the door of the Hilux with a little too much force, the sound jarring in the morning stillness. Clenching the steering wheel, she exhaled through her nose, steadying herself.
This wasn’t a storybook. It was real life. Her life. And she was here to do a job.
Whatever that moment had been – or hadn’t been – she’d leave it right where it was.
Behind her.