“Like wanting or needing praise or something?” In my experience, a lot of people needed more of that and it could come across as needy behavior sometimes.
“That’s probably it. Validation for stuff he’s unsure of, not that that happens often, and then he seems to kind of…I don’t know, he beams when someone tells him what a good job he’s done.” Theo waited for me to take the mare I was taking inside to the gate and open it, before he continued. “I guess everyone likes that if it’s not said in a wrong way. I hate it when it’s done in that fake sort of way that almost feels demeaning.”
“Yeah, I know what you mean. I had a shift manager at the bookstore who was exactly like that.” I put on her annoying tone and half-cooed, “What you did with those books in the corner looks so good, Lake. Well done!”
Theo chuckled. “She didn’t mean it?”
I laughed. “Let’s just say my coworkers would say it genuinely, they liked what I’d done, but then the next day I came in and the manager had been working the evening shift, it had been changed to the way she wanted it.”
“Jesus.”
“Yup!” I grinned. “So you can see why I like this place better, right?”
He went quiet then, and it hit me that he took it to mean more than I’d meant at first. Not that he was wrong about that. Twin Star felt like home now, in such a short time it had burrowed into my chest even though I’d vowed to never return to Illinois.
We might’ve been flirting a bit lately, but this was still a big deal, all in all. His life’s work and home was still on the line until the three months were up when I’d officially make the decision to stay.
The horses got, well, horsey, and he didn’t have a chance to reply to me. We forgot about the subject altogether when we had to do damage control with how rowdy Izzy was and how unsettled he made a few of the more sensitive horses.
* * * *
The next day, Theo and I were doing groundwork with the twins in the outside arena. He had Hope while I held onto Truce’s lead rope and hoped he wouldn’t get spooked.
A couple of the stable cats were lurking around, which gave him enough to think about while Theo explained the finer details of what he was doing and what it meant when Hope reacted in a particular way.
I nodded at something he said and suddenly Truce seemed to grow a few inches next to me as he froze like a gigantic statue.
I turned to look at what was making him so tense, and saw a small sedan turn into the driveway.
“It’s just a car, kiddo, nothing to worry about,” I murmured to Truce, holding onto the rope while I let my other hand slide up his neck and scratched him behind the closest ear.
“Are we expecting anyone?” Theo asked, frowning.
“No, I don’t think—” And then it hit me. “Is today Wednesday?”
“I think so.”
“Shit.Shit.”
“What?”
A man stepped out of the car. He wore dark glasses and had hair that shone like copper in the bright sunlight. His button down shirt was a pale blue and he wore slacks.
“It’s Ruth’s editor guy. I forgot I gave Maria permission to send him over.”
“Oh.” Theo cleared his throat. “Well, he’s here now.”
“It would seem so,” I muttered as we watched the guy walk over to the arena, keeping a close eye on the pit bulls that were settled in the shade between him and us.
“Hey, I’m Ben Harries.” He came closer and leaned against the fence. “Is one of you Lake White?”
I smiled. “That’d be me. I might’ve forgotten it was Wednesday today.”
The guy looked nerdy, but he had a jawline to die for and the color of his hair was striking.
“Oh, that happens, it’s okay.” He smiled.
Bucky had gotten up and ambled closer to him. Ben tensed.
