"I thought you go out every weekend," I said, acting serious but obviously joking.
He smiled. "Exactly. Which is why we can't tell them. My mom would flip out and start pinching your cheeks and oversharing."
I wanted to say that I wouldn't mind having my cheeks pinched by Mrs. Sutter. But he continued speaking, shaking his head at the thought.
"She would go too far, trust me. It'd be a distraction for you while you're trying to work."
"Yeah, maybe we should stick to just telling Josh," I said, even though I now wanted Mrs. Sutter to find out just to see if she would act that way toward me.
He was right, though. We needed to focus on our responsibilities. I had to become my character, and he had a lot of work to do with the horses. He stood to grow his business from it, and he wanted to give it his all. Our lives were about to get really busy, and stolen moments in stalls with horses would have to do. He took one of his hands off my back and placed it on the side of my face. I leaned into his touch, relishing the feel of his fingertips on my skin.
"I want to try to have you all to myself," he said. "That's my goal."
I felt a little surprised, and I pulled back a little, looking into his dark, endless eyes. "You never said that was your goal."
He let his hand drop from my face and put it on my back again. "Does it change anything, now that you know it?"
"Yes, it does," I said. "It changes how I think about things."
"Well, don't you want me all to yourself?" he asked, squinting and looking so serious that I grinned at him.
"Yes, I do, but I'm too shy to say that," I said.
"You just did."
I placed my hand on his chest, and I could feel the hardness of the muscles under his shirt. My heart was going crazy. I wanted him so bad that I ached.
"Henry?"
"Yes?"
"I like you," I said. I was at a loss for words, and that was all I could come up with.
His smile broadened.
"How much?"
"So much that… I'm shaking." My voice came out sounding as vulnerable as I felt. I glanced down, and he moved, not hesitating.
"Come here," he said. "I know another place. Bye, Candice."
"Bye, Candice," I repeated, reaching out to pet the girl as we left. "Is there a chance I can ride her sometime?"
"Yes," he said. "For sure."
"Is it okay for me to do that sort of stuff with you?"
"Yeah, we'll make all that seem natural. You can mention it to me in front of others. Judd said some others will be asking me about rides."
I followed Henry to another stall. He didn't hold onto me. I just followed behind him. This stall was full of supplies and had no horse. There were bales of hay stacked on the far end. All sorts of horse supplies were organized in neat rows, and Henry took a wool blanket off a stack of four or five others. He started to take off, but he turned back and grabbed a second blanket and tucked them both under his arm.
He climbed onto a bale of hay. Then he manhandled another bale so that it was blocking us from the door. He spread the blankets on the flat surface.
"This is cozy," I said, seeing that he was now sprawling out on the blanket like the bales of hay were a couch.
"It is. I take naps back here sometimes."
He sprawled out onto his side, crossing his legs and looking comfortable. He propped his arm behind his head.
