‘Thanks, girl.’ He winked at her. ‘I know where to find him.’
Markus took Nina’s hands and gently helped her to her feet. ‘Come on, baby. Let’s go.’
‘Markus, they asked us to wait a few minutes.’
‘This can’t wait.’ He started walking. Nina followed. ‘These things are always easier in person, and if I can sort it before I leave later, we’ll have the ball well and truly rolling by the time I need to pitch it. I could be back with you in under a week.’
‘Markus—’
‘How did I not know this was right here?’ he asked, deliberately steamrolling her. ‘Cowboys! Only three hours away!’
Nina struggled to keep up with his big strides. Her attacker had cracked her eighth and ninth ribs when he’d kicked her, and too much movement was excruciating. ‘Markus, I don’t want you to put your life on hold for me.’
Markus heard the pinch of pain in her voice and slowed his pace. He jammed his hands in his pockets, but only because she had started snapping at him every time he fussed. ‘Why not?’
‘Because you have a life,’ she responded immediately. ‘A job you love. A boyfriend who has already been entirely too accommodating of me. I’m here now. I’m safe. You need to go home.’ And even though she didn’t actually want him to go, Nina added, ‘I’ll be fine.’
Because she had to be. If she was ever going to get back to the woman she had been, the woman who had clawed her way up in the world using nothing but her brain and a God-given stubborn streak, she needed to start working on it.
Markus closed his eyes and mumbled something incoherent.
‘What are you doing?’ she asked.
‘Praying for patience.’
‘Markus—’
He held up one finger. ‘Almost done.’
And damn him because she truly laughed for the first time in over a week. Andit hurt.
Markus opened his eyes, but he didn’t smile. He said, ‘We’re going to tackle that horseshit chronologically. One—’ he held up his index finger again ‘—you are one of the most important people in my life. Two—’ his middle finger joined his index one ‘—my boyfriend loves you, and if he doesn’t understand why you are my priority right now, then he’s not the man I thought he was and he’s certainly not the man for me. Three, you are here now, and you are safe but I’m not going home until you’re settled in, and I am one hundred per cent certain you’re okay to be left alone. And four—’ his pinkie joined the rest ‘—I genuinely love this concept, I’m in demand enough as a photographer that I think I could arrange it, and thenIcould worry less because I could be closer to you. It’s a win-win.’
Nina’s tears welled before she could bank them. ‘I just want to move on. And I feel like I won’t be able to do that if I get used to leaning on you too much.’
After her three-day hospital stay, she had moved in with Markus. She had slept in his bed with him while Juan took the couch because she kept having nightmares about the attack. She had started waking up in full fight mode, her arms and legs thrashing.
She hadn’t been out alone since the attack, even with her customary baseball-hat-and-sunglasses disguise. The one time she’d tried to go to the grocery store, only a few days prior, she’d driven all the way there and then descended into full-blown panic. She’d sat in her car and cried for an hour before finally calming down enough to drive back to Markus’s.
‘It’s just a bump in the road that’s slowed you down for a while,’ Markus insisted. ‘Neens … You suffered something horrific, and it’s not just going to go away because you want to move on.’ He held out both arms, and she walked into his hug. He sighed and added, ‘It’s going to go away because I carried you for a bit while you rested and recharged. And it’s going to disappear forever when I find the bastard who hurt you and show him that this queen has balls.’
Overwhelmed by guilt and shame and love and gratitude, Nina choked on a laugh-sob. But she took a moment to rest against him, drawing from his strength. She whispered, ‘I love you.’
And she smiled when he only sniffled and replied, ‘Don’t make me cry. I didn’t bring my makeup.’
Chapter 3
They found Maverick just as he was herding the Morgans into the barn to show them where they would meet up with the wranglers if they signed up for any riding lessons. They waited on the peripheries, listening as his deep voice explained, ‘Once you fill out the sign-up sheet at the front desk and schedule a ride, we’ll know which horse will suit you best—’
‘Which one will I ride?’ June squeaked.
Maverick didn’t repeat his instructions. He only smiled and crouched down to the little girl’s level. ‘I’m thinking Spirit for you.’
Mr and Mrs Morgan laughed.
‘Which one is she?’ June asked seriously.
‘He’s that big one over there.’ He pointed to a stall behind where Markus and Nina were standing and saw them for the first time. ‘If you go with your mom, you can have a look at him.’ Maverick pushed back to his feet. ‘Excuse me for a minute, folks.’
