‘Why did you do it?’
His smile softened, turning sad. ‘My dad and I had been talking about it for a while. California’s regulatory environment is getting increasingly difficult to navigate, especially if you’re keeping animals on valuable land. And God forbid you have access to water.’
‘I didn’t realize.’
He shrugged. ‘It’s become a hard life. Even the cows we have now are more to lend the resort authenticity than to turn any significant profit.’ He stepped out in front of the horse to open the pasture gate. ‘Once my dad passed, it seemed like the right time to diversify. He was the last true cowboy in the family.’
‘You’re not a cowboy?’ She pointedly looked him over, from his scuffed cowboy boots, up jean-clad legs and his long-sleeved work shirt, to his ratty baseball cap. The man had a rope attached to his saddle – and not for aesthetics, but because he genuinely used it. ‘Coulda fooled me.’
Maverick grinned. ‘Not really. I mean, I know how the ranch works, and I can keep it going. But I’ve always been more invested in the horses. My dad … He knew we had to make some changes, but I think he didn’t want to be the first Hunt in over a hundred years to sell. He was too proud. Me … I’d rather keep a smaller slice of it forever than lose all of it, no matter how much money I could get for it.’
‘I’m sorry – about your dad.’
‘Yeah, me too.’ He let her urge Zephyr through the gate before closing it behind them. ‘But he and my mom died together, just like they always said they would. So that’s something.’
It felt too personal to ask how it had happened, so she didn’t. But Nina wouldn’t deny that she was curious. Instead she said, ‘They would be really proud of what you’ve built.’ Because how could they not have been? She didn’t need to have stayed more than one night on the Hunt Ranch – in a bathroom, nonetheless – to know that it was one hell of an operation.
It said something about his parents that Maverick didn’t deny it. He said, ‘Yeah, they would have been. Absolutely.’
They started down the dirt road in the direction of the barn in silence. Nina, who hadn’t been able to go out in public for years without being recognized and stopped for an autograph or picture, loved that he didn’t seem to care about the fact that she was actually quite famous.
She hadn’t forgotten what it was like to just be normal, to be treated like a regular person, to be spoken to and to speak back without any veneers, without having to guard her every word and action in case it ended up in print. But she did miss it. Markus and Luigi’s gang were the only ones who knew the Nina Keller she was behind closed doors. Every other person she interacted with knew her as a movie star and treated her as such.
When they came to the barn, Maverick took over, leading Zephyr to one of three concrete mounting blocks. He patted the horse’s neck. ‘Coffee time?’
‘Amen,’ Nina replied.
‘You’re going to dismount the exact opposite way you mounted. Right foot out of the stirrup first, right leg over the saddle to the mounting block, and then left leg last. Try to focus more on rotating your hips and keeping your torso as still as possible to help with those ribs.’
Nina gripped the saddle and followed his instructions until she stood on the mounting block.
‘All good?’ He held out one hand to help her down.
Nina took it, tried to ignore how aware she was of that huge, rough palm against hers. ‘Yup.’ She craned her neck back to look up at him as she stepped off the mounting block. ‘That was amazing. Thank you.’
‘Anytime.’
‘What now? Do I unsaddle her? Or groom her?’
‘Not with broken ribs you don’t,’ he responded immediately. He tipped his head in the direction of a closed door that read: STAFF ONLY. ‘Get yourself some coffee – we have the full set-up in there. Wander around, check in on Barbie. Relax. Get breakfast up at the resort. You’re on vacation.’
‘Mr Hunt—’
‘Maverick,’ he corrected.
‘Only if you stop calling meMsKeller. Or ma’am. One makes me feel like a spinster, the other like an old lady.’
He tipped his head at that. ‘Seems fair.’
‘I have some questions.’
‘Shoot.’
Nina checked them off her fingers. ‘Are you saying the coffee is behind the door clearly labelled: STAFF ONLY? Will anyone mind me going in there and helping myself? And will I get in the way if I stay down here?’ She looked towards the resort, where the early risers might just be starting to wake. ‘I’m in a stage of life where I prefer animals to people.’
In a gesture she found completely endearing, he mimicked her, counting off his fingers. ‘The coffee is behind the door labelled STAFF ONLY,’ he replied. ‘Nobody will mind you going anywhere you want, and if that happens to be the stables, then it’s the stables. And I didn’t know that preferring animals to people was a stage. Here I thought it was just fact.’
Nina laughed, but she turned in the direction of the coffee. ‘Can I get you a cup?’
