But his own pain had amplified his need to protect others too. When his parents had died, he’d thought nothing would ever hurt as much. Then Shannon had decided that being a rancher’s wife wasn’t going to be as easy as she’d thought it would be and she had left, and that had hurt even more because it had been his fault, his shortcomings that she had thrown in his face as she’d packed her things. As it were, she barely even checked in on Poppy. Oh, there was the rare phone call and even rarer visit, but only when Shannon needed to relieve her own guilt a little bit. And even then, it wasMavwho felt guilty. As if his inability to make Shannon happy had deprived Poppy of the chance for a family – a family like the one he’d grown up with.
Then Sierra and Benji’s baby girl had died and that had been the hardest. He’d arrived at the hospital filled with joy and excitement, and left with a broken heart, the flowers he’d carried with him becoming morbid in a single moment. And then afterwards, he’d had to watch his little sister and best friend live with a degree of suffering he couldn’t even fathom, let alone do anything to ease.
Mav never wanted to feel any of that pain again, and he couldn’t help but try to reduce it as much as he could for others, too.
‘Put some jeans on,’ he said to Nina. ‘I’ll give you your first lesson and then source you a decent cup of coffee.’
Nina tightened the blanket around her shoulders. ‘I don’t want to get in the way …’
He considered being gentle, settled on directness instead. ‘Is that true?’ He leaned one forearm on the horn of his saddle. ‘If you don’t want to ride, I’ll understand. You’re a guest, here to relax. But if you’re genuinely worried about getting in the way – don’t be. Ms Keller, I’m not the type to offer when I don’t mean it.’
She blinked once as if he’d shocked her.
‘You have a pair of boots?’ he asked.
She nodded.
‘Well then.’
Gripping the blanket with one hand, she raised the other to her mouth, nibbled on her thumbnail as if the decision was giving her genuine anxiety.
Maverick didn’t push, though he found himself surprised at how much he wanted her to say yes.
She didn’t maintain eye contact, rather turned to study Zephyr, her eyes wide with a mix of anticipation and uncertainty. ‘Five minutes,’ she said finally. She turned to go back inside, looked over her shoulder at him, but only to repeat, ‘Five minutes.’
The moment he nodded, she dropped the blanket on the porch and ran inside, but not before giving him an eyeful of barely there pink silk pyjamas and slender legs.
Mav exhaled one tight breath, looked away, out over the pasture, and reminded himself that while noticing wasn’t a crime, he could –would– be professional. And nothing more.
Nina was famous, and he wouldn’t be one of the sad millions who treated her differently because of it. She had just been hurt irreparably by a man and didn’t need to ward off another. Hell, even if she had been interested, he didn’t do casual. At the rate he was going, he didn’t do serious either.
He had dated in the five years since Shannon had left, sure. He loved women, missed having one in his life. But even though he had been attracted to more than one of the women he’d gone out with, he hadn’t felt anything more than that little spark and certainly not enough to introduce a single one of them to Poppy.
He didn’t consider himself overprotective. But he knew the agony of being abandoned, of being found lacking, and he wouldn’t risk Poppy’s heart by introducing her to anyone he wasn’t certain would stick around.
So, he ignored the pleasure he’d felt when Nina had agreed to the lesson, pointedly eradicated the image of her pink silk pyjamas from his mind, and reminded himself that it was his job to ensure guests enjoyed their stays. Nothing more.
He figured she’d take twenty minutes, so was genuinely surprised when she ran back out not even seven later. She was dressed in jeans, boots, and a pretty white blouse that was just begging to get ruined. She had covered her bruises with light makeup, hiding the worst of them, and hurriedly braided her hair so that it fell in a long tail down her back.
‘Record time.’
‘I would say that I didn’t want to keep you waiting, but the truth is that I hate to primp. It wastes so much time. And for who?’
Maverick swung his leg over the saddle and dismounted. He wanted to say that, with a face like that, she had no need to primp anyway. But didn’t.
He sized her up, guesstimated the length of her legs and adjusted the stirrups accordingly.
Nina approached Zephyr cautiously, less confident now that she realized she was going to be sitting on top of the horse. Maverick noticed her slow movements, asked, ‘Remember what we went through yesterday?’
‘Yes.’
But he summarized the lesson anyway. ‘Breathe deeply. Approach with confidence.’
‘She doesn’t seem anxious,’ Nina observed. ‘Not like Barbie was.’
‘She’s not. But you are.’
‘Oh.’ She laughed lightly, raised one hand to her heart as if she needed to feel it beating. ‘I suppose I am.’
