‘Which one should I watch?’
‘Oh,Dogs of Despair. Definitely.’
‘Gonna guess that’s not suitable for Poppy? I’ll fit it in,’ Mav replied, and turned the conversation back to the problem at hand. ‘I can’t keep an eye on her twenty-four hours a day. But when she’s here and I’m not, I’m making her your responsibility.’
‘You’re that worried?’
‘Yeah, I am. Something doesn’t sit right. And all I know is that she definitely got hurt, she’s definitely famous, and she definitely doesn’t have security.’ Mav pushed to his feet. ‘You don’t have to baby her. I don’t want her to feel like she’s being watched. Just keep one eye on her.’
‘Sure thing, boss. But you realize, you could just ask her about it?’
Mav assessed the bridles on the table, cross-referencing each with the horse it belonged to and the list of guests from that day’s sign-up sheet. Benji had things under control – as always. But it didn’t quite ease Mav’s mind; it was just another reminder that Benji would leave Hunt Ranch soon. He didn’t bring it up, knowing that Benji was doing what he had to to survive. ‘I thought about it. But I don’t want to put her through it again. She’s here to recuperate.’
‘You don’t have to ask her for the intimate details,’ Benji argued. ‘Just ask her how vigilant we need to be.’
‘Maybe.’ But it didn’t sit well with Mav. Pain should be shared willingly, otherwise it was just prying. ‘There’s one other thing I wanted to talk to you about.’
‘I’m listening.’
Mav shifted. ‘I’m going to start looking around for your replacement soon. That way you can train them before you go.’
Benji’s grin faded instantly. ‘Yeah,’ he said regretfully.
Maverick hated to bring it up. He would rather have cut out his own heart than hurt either Sierra or Benji. Still, Hunt Ranch had to run, and Mav was the one responsible for making sure that it ran smoothly. ‘When I do, Sierra is going to have questions. Do you want me to tell her? Or is that something you want to do yourself?’
‘I should do it. God knows if I don’t, it’ll just be another thing she blames me for.’
Maverick didn’t even deny it. ‘I won’t advertise for the job until you give me the green light then.’
‘Thanks, Mav.’
‘Don’t thank me. If it was up to me, you wouldn’t be going at all.’
‘But you understand why I have to.’
Mav sighed sadly. ‘Yeah. Yeah, I do.’
With a final nod, Benji got back to work. ‘I’ll keep an eye on Nina when she’s around.’
‘Thank you.’
Benji only pointed at him. ‘Dogs of Despair.’
‘I’ll watch it,’ Mav promised.
Chapter 8
Over the next few days, Maverick tried not to worry about Nina and whatever had happened to her. Which should have been easy enough, except for the fact that she spent most of her mornings down at the barn, helping with the horses, taking lessons, and spending time with Barbie, so she was always in his line of sight and always in his thoughts.
He told himself it was none of his business, and then found himself talking loudly every time he approached her so that he didn’t startle her. He told himself that she would have hired security if she’d thought she’d needed it, and then wondered why the hell she hadn’t when she was still so clearly terrified. He reminded himself that she wasn’t there for him to ogle, but kept finding his eyes turning in her direction.
Maverick couldn’t help it. He really liked the way she moved, like a butterfly, all dainty and quick, and the way she mindfully slowed her fluttering when she was working with the horses. He liked that she had traded her pretty blouses for Hunt Ranch T-shirts she had bought in the gift shop, and that she didn’t seem to care when she left the barn covered in dust and hair and sweat.
But the fact that he noticed her, the fact that he knew that she was intelligent and capable of making her own decisions, didn’t automatically stop the worry. Even at that moment, he was sitting on the picnic bench in the guests’ waiting area in front of the barn, cleaning tack in front of everyone instead of doing it in the tack room because he wanted to keep an eye on her.
He saw the way the other guests whispered and fawned over her, watched them as they summed up the courage to ask her for a picture or an autograph. And instead of admiring the way she always seemed so happy and flattered to be talking to them, he noticed the way her smile dimmed and her shoulders rounded the moment they walked away.
And in those quiet moments when she didn’t realize that he was watching her, he saw the defeat and devastation in her. And it crushed him.
