His eyes shift to mine, and he swallows hard. “She—she’s beautiful.”
I glance down and his hands are balled into fists, carrot and all. Oh, no. Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea.
“If this is too much?—”
He waves it off, recovering quickly. His smile is long gone, his lips curl slightly as he says, “No, it’s not. I need this. May I?” He motions to pat her.
I nod. “Of course, she loves new people. I named her Spirit for a reason.”
He reaches for her, his hand stroking all the way down to just above her nose. “She’s majestic.” Spirit flutters her tail, gently nuzzling into his hand.
I can’t help but smile. “Yep, she’s special. I’ve always said Spirit makes a wonderful therapist, it’s because of her I’m mainly sane.”
He chuckles. “I hear ya.”
I try not to watch him, but he is something else. His face is a mixture of pain, but also awe. His lips part as if he’s about tosay something, but as if suddenly changing his mind, he doesn’t. Then my baby nudges his hand impatiently, and he laughs. “Sorry, girl, here you go.” He feeds her the carrot, and she takes it greedily. We watch her munch it and I don’t hurry him. I think he needs this.
His eyes meet mine, and they’re watery.Holy fuck, have I really met a man in touch with his feelings?This is a first.
I clear my throat, looking away because this feels too personal to even be sharing it with a stranger. “Next, we have Mrs. Grumpy Drawers, Dancer. Despite her name, she used to kick up quite a fuss when she was younger, not so much anymore, but kids seem to love her. She likes them.”
Her head pops out and she neighs as I stroke her mane. “She’s a big softie, really.”
Brett slowly reaches for her, petting her so gently it makes my heart weep, and trust me, I’m not a weeper. “She favors apples.” I drop a couple of pieces into his palm and he feeds them to her.
“She’s beautiful. I can imagine her in her heyday,” he says as Dancer shakes her tail, as well as her head—her tail swooshes side to side.
“I think she likes you.”
“I don’t know, she’s on guard.”
I lean over and kiss the side of her head. “She’ll warm up to you.”
We move on to the last stable, and I call out, “Rebel, honey, don’t be mad with Mommy. I’m sorry.”
“Why, what did you do?” Brett asks mockingly.
I side eye him, then whisper, “I stayed out later than planned. Some cute cowboy bought me pie.”
I don’t miss the mischievous look in his eye. “Cute? That’s a step up fromif you play your cards right, and not too far away from ruggedly handsome.”
I shake my head. “I have no clue how you jumped from A to Z so fast.”
I don’t need to glance at him to know he’s smirking. Rebel doesn’t appear, so I know she’s sulking. I unlatch her stable and step inside. “Are you mad with Mommy?” Her ears are pinned back, and her eyes soft as she gazes at me. Okay, she’s notthatmad.
Brett stays in the doorway as I reach for her, but to my astonishment, she ignores me and trots straight toward Brett.Myhorse, the Rebel without a Cause, walks willingly to a stranger.
I’ve never seen her do that. Ever.
“Well,” I start, watching her go. “Fine, you’re mad. I said I was sorry.”
Of course, Brett is a natural. “Rebel, is that your name,honey?”
The way he sayshoney.
“Huh. Well… I’ve never seen her do that before—” My words cut off as she lowers her head and nudged him.Fucking nudges him!
“Aren’t you a beauty?” Brett coos. “Such a good girl.”
