Chapter Eight
One whole week. That’s how much time had passed since Romeo ventured out of his crate to sniff Aiden out and since Aiden sat his first horse.
If anyone had told him how much his world could change in seven days, he would have laughed at them.
After all, he’d spent weeks in the hospital and even more weeks in rehab.
In that time he’d healed enough and struggled enough that he could walk on his own two feet, but not without a limp.
A pronounced limp. He wasn’t totally sure what bothered him more, the pain or the limp.
What he had failed to mention to Colleen was that even though her therapy schedule for him was one day of equine and two days off, after feeling an actual difference in his pain level and his gait—yes, he still limped, but he could feel the difference—he decided that taking Boots for a short ride the day after his official equine therapy wouldn’t hurt.
At least not if Colleen didn’t find out.
Seated at the foot of the paddock gate, Romeo’s gaze had followed every movement of man and horse. It almost made Aiden wonder what the dog would do if he didn’t like what he saw. A single bark reached Aiden’s ears. Glancing over, he spotted Romeo now on all fours almost dancing in place.
Aiden pulled on the reins, bringing Boots to a stop. What had Romeo so excited?
The dog sat again, simply staring at Aiden. When he shrugged and tapped the horse to move forward, Romeo began his in place dance again.
“Okay, boy. Something’s up. What is it?” The simple question was said in earnest. To his surprise, Aiden realized, he actually expected the dog to tell him what had him all worked up.
When he thought about how far the K9 had come since his arrival, he couldn’t decide who had come farther, himself or the nervous canine.
Another bark, this time accompanied by throwing his neck over his shoulder—as much as a dog could—and then glancing back again.
Suddenly, understanding dawned. Aiden glanced at his watch.
“Dang it.” Another few minutes and Colleen would be here.
He needed to get off the horse ASAP so she wouldn’t realize what he was doing.
Careful to nudge Boots toward the new mounting ladder, Aiden climbed off as quickly as was feasible and walked Boots back to the barn.
To his surprise, Romeo followed him. Having Romeo shadow him short distances was nothing new, but having the dog venture into the barn was definitely a first. What Aiden couldn’t decide was if this was a big deal or not.
“How’d it go?” Clint took the lead from Aiden and gently patted boots on the neck.
“So far so good.” Now he just waited to see if he felt better or worse for pushing the limits.
“Good.” Clint bobbed his head. “Soon we’ll teach you how to put a horse up without me.”
Right. A New York City boy caring for a horse. “Sounds good.” Taking his time, he made his way toward the house, Romeo faithfully on his heel. “Are you going to come inside with me today, boy?”
The dog didn’t say a word. Okay, so Romeo was a dog, a word was unlikely. He didn’t bark, whine, or even grumble.
Once they reached the back porch steps, exactly as had happened the last several days, Aiden turned left to enter the house and Romeo turned right to crawl into his kennel.
Aiden knew he should be pleased that the dog was no longer needing to be hand fed, was moving around getting much needed exercise, but it still bothered him that the K9 would shut down around everyone else.
He hoped more fervently every day that time was a good enough answer.
“You’re not overdoing it, are you?” Carrying a basket of laundry, Alice Sweet came into the kitchen.
“No, ma’am.” Years of military training under the thumb of screaming drill sergeants was the only thing helping him keep a straight face.
“Right.” Kade’s mom smiled.
That woman was the personification of eyes in the back of your head. It must have been hell for Kade and his siblings to try and pull one over on this lady. “I’m going to take a quick shower.”
Alice nodded. “Hot water will help head off the ache before it fully sets in.”
“Yes, ma’am.” In less than fifteen minutes—again, thanks to his training from Uncle Sam—he was clean shaven, and feeling more human than he had in a while. His hip was only complaining mildly. Something to be thankful for.
The moment he opened his bedroom door, the sound of female conversation and laughter drifted in his direction.
As if cued, his lips curled up in a contented smile.
For just a second he paused to think back through recent years; had the mere sound of a woman’s voice ever made him smile?
Shaking his head, he cleared the thoughts and proceeded to the heart of the Sweet family home before he began waxing foolishly sentimental over a stupid smile.
“There you are.” A cold lemonade in one hand, Colleen grinned up at him.
Considering that his contented smile stretched into a full blown grin, it would seem that more than just her voice made him want to smile. Dang, he was going to have to reel that in.
Folding clean clothes at the table, Alice smiled up at him. “Colleen has a change of plan for y’all this afternoon.”
“Really?” That could be interesting.
“Yeah.” She put down her glass. “Since you’ve been so good, I thought it might be fun to take the horses out on a real ride.”
Oh, Colleen would have paid big bucks to have a photograph of the look of sheer panic that flashed in Aiden’s eyes. Don’t get her wrong, he did his best to hide it. His stance was solid and his smile didn’t waver, but his eyes… those gave the panic away.
“Horseback riding.”
It was hard to tell from his tone if that was a statement, a question, or if he was merely stalling for time to come up with a good excuse why his hip would probably revolt if he rode another minute.
As much as she wanted to keep a straight face, she just couldn’t stop from spitting a deep throated laugh.
“Am I missing something?” Aiden looked from her to Ms. Alice and back.
“I stopped at the barn before coming into the house. Wanted to check on Boots. Saw Clint brushing her down. He might have mentioned that soon he was going to teach you how to care for your own horse.”
“Traitor,” he muttered under his breath.
“I’m sorry. I just couldn’t resist teasing you. Though, my plan for the day does involve horses, just not riding them.”
“I’m all ears.”
“Ms. Alice tells me that there’s a four-wheeler available for our use. Did you know there’s a herd of wild horses that roam near the property?”
He shook his head.
“I heard in town that a few new foals have been spotted. Thought it might be nice to have a picnic lunch down by the creek bed where they’ve been spotted.”
“Oh,” his shoulders relaxed, “that sounds nice.”
“I’ve already put the blanket and memory foam stadium seats in the four wheeler so that it’s more comfortable sitting on the ground.”
“Stadium seats?” That was definitely a question.
“Basically they’re just memory foam cushions we use on the bleachers Friday nights.”
“Got it.” His head bobbed up and down.
“I hope you like crispy fried chicken.” Alice continued to fold the laundry without looking up.
“Love it.”
Even without lifting her head, Colleen could see the smile on Alice’s face. “Then you’d better get moving before the gang comes in for lunch and steals your food.”
That was all the encouragement Colleen needed. She grabbed her lemonade from the table, took one last swallow, and nodded toward the back door. “Come on. If Carson gets hold of the fried chicken, all you’ll get is bones and excuses.”
Aiden’s grin came easier now than it had a week ago, a change she enjoyed more than she probably should. “Sounds like a man with brothers.”
“Exactly.” Slipping out the back door ahead of him, she headed for the shed where the four wheeler was kept, the picnic basket secured in the cargo bed beside the folded blanket and the two memory foam seats.
Colleen checked the straps on the basket, then looked back at Aiden.
He was moving well. A little careful, a little guarded, but better. Noticeably better.
“You driving?” he asked.
“That was the plan.”
He nodded. “Good. I’ve seen enough of your roads to know I’m not qualified.”
Laughing, she climbed on and waited until he settled in beside her.
The engine started with a rumble, and they headed across the ranch, cutting a path through the back acreage where the ground dipped and rose in soft undulations.
Colleen kept the pace easy, steering around the rougher patches when she could.
The last thing she wanted was for him to be too jarred to enjoy the afternoon.
For the first little while they rode in silence.
Not an awkward one. The kind that came when both people were looking at the same stretch of country and didn’t feel the need to fill every second.
Cattle moved lazily in the distance, and somewhere beyond the far fence line a hawk circled slow and steady against the wide blue sky.
When she slowed near the dry canyon bed, Aiden leaned slightly to see past her shoulder. “This where they’ve been spotted?”
Nodding, she parked and cut the engine. For a second, the only sounds were the cooling tick of the motor and the wind brushing through dry grass. Then somewhere ahead came the soft nickering of horses.
She didn’t have to be a mind reader to see the interest blooming in Aiden’s eyes. Taking pains, literally, to hide his discomfort, he exited the ranch vehicle and together they walked the few yards down to the canyon bed and found a spot near the banks that gave them a safe and clear view.
Colleen spread the blanket, then set one of the cushions down for him. “There. Fancy seating.”
With nothing more than a nod, he lowered himself carefully onto the seat. She noticed the faint tightening around his mouth and the quick breath he drew through his nose, but once he was settled, his expression eased again.
“Hungry?”
“Always,” he chuckled. “Most military men are a bit like dogs. Put food in front of us and we’ll eat it. Gladly.”
“I’ll keep that in mind.” Smiling, Colleen pulled out wrapped chicken pieces, potato salad, biscuits, and before she could pull out the tea, she spotted the foal and pointed. “Look.”
A small band of mustangs moved along the opposite bank, one mare stopped and lifted her head. Behind her, close enough to brush her flank, a foal stood in plain view.
“Oh,” Aiden muttered very quietly.
Colleen smiled without looking away from the little family. “That’s what I thought.”
The foal was all legs and curiosity, dark-coated with a faint star on its forehead. It took a few uneven steps, then stopped to stare straight ahead as if trying to figure out why the world was so large. The mare nudged it gently, and the baby moved again, staying tucked close.
Aiden had gone still beside her. Not tense. Just…quiet in a different way. She sneaked a glance at him and saw the softness on his face, the kind she’d only caught in flashes before. With Romeo. With Boots. Never for very long.
“They’re beautiful,” he said.
“They are.”
He watched the foal stumble and recover. “Looks like he’s figuring out how legs work.”
“That’s generous. I’m not sure he knows he owns all four yet.”
That earned a brief smile from him, but his gaze stayed fixed on the horses.
Colleen took a bite of her chicken and leaned back on one hand, content to let the silence settle.
After a minute or two, she heard a slow sweet sound.
Aiden was humming. She didn’t recognize the tune, but the timbre of his voice was enthralling.
Made her want to hear more. “What’s that? ”
The humming stopped. “What’s what?”
“That song.”
A little color rose along his neck. “It’s Puccini.”
Her brows lifted. “Puccini?”
“Opera.”
That’s what she was thinking. Talk about not judging a book by its cover. A military man from the Bronx who knew opera. Would this man ever stop surprising her?