“Baby steps, right?” He smoothed his hand down her ponytail, and she didn’t mind one bit.
“Right.” She smiled, and their gaze connected.
How was it that this man—a guy she’d known less than six months—seemed together so easily?
His head tilted to one side, and his eyes traveled over her face, taking in all of her features. Sounds from the bar faded to nothing in the background as some kind of oddly deep, meaningful connection was made between them. It felt like they were the only two people on the planet and something—some kind of unspoken understanding—passed between them.
“Ahem.” Eddie’s voice cut through her fanciful imaginings. “You guys gonna eat or just stare at each other all night?”
“Shut up, Eddie,” Boone tossed the words out without taking his attention from her face.
Luna dragged her gaze from his and saw the server standing there, holding their food.
“Sorry,” Luna said.
“I’d stare at him, too.” She winked, set their food in front of them, and left the table.
Boone leaned sideways and placed his mouth close to her ear. “We’ll pick this conversation up later.”
An hour ago, the idea of that would’ve had her edgy with dread. Now, for whatever reason, she almost looked forward to sharing her secret with him. Only time would tell if she chickened out or not.
CHAPTER FOUR
Booneswungthegateopen, clicked his tongue a couple of times, and led Patience into the paddock. Dust kicked up with each thump of the three-year-old palomino’s hooves to the sandy ground. Her golden-blond coat and almost white mane, tail, and boots glistened beneath the midday sun.
He looped her reins loosely over the top rail next to her embossed saddle and grabbed the curry comb and ran it over her in circular motions. Loose hair, dander, and dust floated into the air with each stroke.
Her tail flicked side to side, letting him know how much she enjoyed being brushed. Proving that her name suited her perfectly.
“You like that, don’t you, sweet girl?” Boone had a special place in his heart for Patience.
He’d been home on leave and was in the stable the night she was born. It had been a difficult birth—Patience was inverted in the birth canal—and they’d been worried about losing both the foal and the mare. Fortunately, Boone and his dad were able to maneuver the foal, and Patience was finally delivered. Both baby and momma had been exhausted but otherwise healthy.
They’d gotten lucky that night.
He spent a few more minutes brushing her, then released the reins from the fence and draped them over her back so she could stroll freely around the paddock.
She immediately trotted over to where some branches from an apple tree hung over the fence and started poking her nose through the branches, sniffing for any low-hanging fruit.
Normally, he wouldn’t let her indulge, but there weren’t that many apples left on the tree this late in the summer.
A loud, high-pitched whinny from inside the barn had him shaking his head.
Someone was feeling ignored.
He sauntered into the barn and saw Sassy’s big reddish-brown head sticking out of her stall. She saw him coming and started whinnying and bobbing her head up and down.
“I didn’t forget you.” He grabbed a carrot from a bucket on the floor and strolled over to her. “Here ya go.” He opened his palm to let her grab the carrot, and she crunched it loudly, dropping little orange bits on the floor.
“You’re so impatient.” He ruffled her bangs and smoothed his hand down the front of her face a few times, stopping to scratch that one spot she liked so much.
Boone grabbed the bridle and reins from the hook next to her stall, fed the end of her snout through the nose strap, and wedged the bit to the back of her mouth. He slipped the headband over her ears and secured the strap beneath her throat.
He’d done this so many times with Sassy she knew exactly what to do, which made his life a hell of a lot easier. Because when a thousand-plus-pound horse decided not to cooperate, it was no fun for anyone.
He reached for the latch on the stall door, and she automatically backed up a few feet to make room for him to swing it open and walk inside. Boone wanted to give Patience a bit more time to munch on apples without being harassed, so he repeated the brushing process with Sassy.
Her back twitched as he stroked the brush over her, and she stomped her front hoof a few times to indicate she was more than ready to go.
