Her face grew warm under his scrutiny. She couldn’t see his eyes behind his sunglasses, but everyone knew Cassey had her daddy’s eyes. So, Amy had basically said that Ben had the prettiest eyes.
It was true, so she wouldn’t try to deny it. She’d end up digging herself a bigger hole. She carried the blanket over to the horses, pretending she hadn’t said anything. Thankfully, Ben followed and within minutes, everything was packed up.
Before they mounted their horses again, Amy grabbed Ben’s hand. “I know this hasn’t been easy but thank you for sharing with me today. I’m so sorry for everything you’ve lost.”
“Thank you, Amy.” He removed his sunglasses, and his electric blue eyes bore into hers. He squeezed her hand. “Thank you for being stubborn, for making me face the memories. It hurts. A lot. But it’s been good.”
“I won’t pretend I understand your pain because I don’t. I’ve never suffered a loss like you have, but whenever I’ve struggled with something difficult, I take life one day at a time, then try all over again the next day.”
“I’ve been taking life one day at a time for a year now, but I haven’t been trying to make it any better. Consequently, I don’t think it’s improved.” The corners of his mouth turned up. “How did you and Paige get so smart?”
Amy gave him a wry smile and turned to her horse.
Ben stood by as she climbed on Honey. It took two tries, and a nudge from Ben against her hip to get her into the saddle.
Before they returned to the ranch, they skirted around the rocky out-cropping, riding the horses uphill. When they arrived at the top, Amy caught her breath. The view was incredible. Gently rolling hills blanketed in grass starting to turn gold were broken by stands of trees with leaves in various shades of yellow, orange, and red. A wide stream snaked across the landscape like a silver serpent. The sky, still a vibrant blue, held more fluffy clouds than before.
Amy sucked in a deep breath of fresh air. “Beautiful. This is my new favorite place in the whole world.”
* * *
They talkedas they rode back to the ranch, and Amy shared tidbits of her past as well as her dreams of someday going to culinary school and owning her own restaurant. She talked about her early days at Charlie’s. “And then the entire bin of dirty dishes slipped from my hands, right there in the middle of the restaurant. There were broken dishes and food all over the floor. I was so embarrassed. Charlie made me clean it up all by myself.”
Ben laughed. “So, you’ve always lacked coordination, huh?”
The most genuine smile she’d seen since her arrival in Providence lingered on his face, and she caught her breath at the sight of his dimple. Again, she chided herself for being attracted to the man while he grieved for his wife and daughter.
Reminded of the photo on Ben’s phone, Amy again tried to remember where she’d seen that baby. If she could remember the baby, why couldn’t she remember where? She was almost certain she’d seen Cassie after she was kidnapped.
But how? Where?
“How about it?”
“How about what?” Amy said, pulling herself from her thoughts.
“Shall we pick up the pace? Let the horses run a little?”
Amy shivered as she felt the color drain from her face. “No. I don’t want to fall off.” She was enjoying herself.Why ruin a good thing?
“You’ll be fine. We’ll start off with a trot.”
“Ben, you know I’m not that coordinated.”
“Relax and feel the motion of the horse and let your body move with it. Hold onto the saddle horn if you need to.”
Before she could protest again, Ben nudged Apollo’s flanks, and he quickened his pace to a trot. Honey followed suit to keep pace with Apollo.
Wide-eyed, Amy grasped the pommel in a death grip as she bounced in the saddle.
“Relax into it.”
Jaw clenched, she studied Ben. His body came upward in a single fluid motion with the horse and back down again. Taking a deep breath and loosening her hold on the pommel, she attempted to relax and focus on the motion of her horse.
After several more strides she felt like she bounced less, but she was certain she didn’t look nearly as graceful as Ben. As she relaxed into Honey’s rhythm, a lightness settled over her.Exhilarating.
“Let’s take it to a gallop.”
“Ben, no. I—”
