She’d have Markus sneak her a one-of-a-kind shot. She’d have it blown up, printed, and framed, so that years from now, when people saw the rugged cowboy with gentle eyes looking at them from her living-room wall and asked her who he was, she could say, ‘The man who taught me how to ride a horse.’ And though she wouldn’t say it, she felt the first flickers of her old self pushing through the numbness and knew he was also the man who had reminded her that kindness in small gestures mattered.
Maverick had had no obligation to waste his valuable time teaching an unscheduled ride but hehad. And in doing that one small thing, he had given her something she hadn’t been able to muster in over seven days.
He’d given her hope.
Because while she’d been up on that horse, she hadn’t relived the attack or the after-effects. She hadn’t suffered the extreme anxiety over her career ending or what she would do when it did. She had thought about nothing but staying in the saddle, had done nothing but focus on steering the horse and listening to Maverick talk about his home and his family. And it had been so lovely, to just be present.
Nina hadn’t realized before the assault how important it was to simply exist in time and space without the trauma from the past dragging you back and the anxiety for the future pulling you frantically in the opposite direction, without the worry that what you had suffered had permanently altered who you were and what you were capable of becoming.
But she knew now.
So, she appreciated Maverick Hunt’s small gesture. He had reminded her that somewhere, deep inside, the woman she had been still existed.
By the time Maverick had gotten Poppy up, dressed, fed, and to daycare, he was running behind on almost everything he was supposed to have done that morning. But even though he was pushed for time, he couldn’t bring himself to regret his impromptu decision to take Nina for a ride.
He’d meant what he’d told Benji: she could sit a horse. She had a natural seat, her hands and hips following the horse’s movements instinctively. Once he’d given her basic instructions, she’d run with them and hadn’t needed his help once. And perhaps the biggest point in her favour, she seemed to genuinely love the horses. Maverick would remember the way her face had lit up when she’d taken those first steps on Zeph for a long time.
He thought about her as he walked back to the barn to check in on everything, hoped in the back of his mind that she would still be there when he got in.
She wasn’t.
But he found Benji in the tack room, setting aside the saddles and bridles for the eleven o’clock lessons and trail ride. ‘I already told June Morgan she could be on Spirit,’ he said.
Benji didn’t pause in what he was doing. ‘I had him brought in for one of the kids anyway. I’ll make sure she gets him.’
‘Nina Keller do okay this morning?’
Benji shot a grin over his shoulder. ‘I figured it would take you longer to work your way back there.’ He waggled his eyebrows. ‘If it makes you feel all warm and fuzzy inside, she looked at you plenty too.’
Maverick didn’t take the bait. He couldn’t hide anything from Benji, so denying he was attracted wouldn’t work. He didn’t even try it. He simply ignored it.
Mav sat down in a nearby chair, taking the five minutes to be off his feet. ‘Found her sleeping on the porch just after five. She woke up gasping for breath like a fish outta water. And those bruises … I couldn’t leave her there.’
‘You’re a bleeding heart, son.’
No point in denying it. ‘Yeah.’
Benji looked at Mav, frowned. ‘You’re genuinely worried?’
‘Sierra said they didn’t catch the guy.’
‘I know.’
Mav leaned back in his chair. ‘It’s been bothering me. I mean, she gets beaten within an inch of her life and is here a week later without a single bodyguard, even though we all know she could easily afford it. She’s still scared – anyone can see that. So, why no protection?’
‘I don’t know.’ Benji took Spirit’s bridle from its hook, placed it on the table with the rest. ‘Maybe she figures it was just some crazy, and that we’re too remote. I checked her Instagram. The last post was a month ago, on the set of the new film she’s working on.Shadowlands. There was no news on her or the assault, so she hasn’t told anyone she’s here.’
‘Hopefully none of our guests do either.’ But he also had to ask, ‘Why were you checking her social media?’
‘Relax, Cassanova,’ Benji teased. ‘It’s how modern human beings satiate their curiosity. If you’d ever had even a Facebook account, you’d know this.’ When Mav had nothing to say to that, Benji added, ‘Could you just open an Instagram account so that I can send you socially relevant memes instead of trying to explain over a decade of internet history to you?’
‘Negative.’
Benji sighed. ‘Well, could you at least watchoneof her movies?’
‘She any good?’ Mav asked, though they both knew he would have watched one even if she wasn’t.
‘Incredible.’
