A guy named Casper Hayes is set to arrive with his three horses on Friday. All four-year olds, green broke and ready for more advanced training. Training I'm meant to provide now.
Before today, I hadn't even ridden a horse in nearly a year. Hadn't so much as led one out to the round pen to get them some exercise. Sam's been coming by to ride a handful of them, same as he did for Trent, keeping them exercised, but that's not going to be enough anymore.
I run a hand over Kimber's forehead when she lifts her head to investigate why I'm still lingering outside her stall. I remember the day Trent bought her at auction. Well, they didn't so much sell her as they gave her away. To hear him tell it, they damn near paid him to take her.
She'd been rescued from some place in the foothills where some off-the-grid folks let a small herd of horses go feral, breeding themselves and running wild. Wouldn't have been quite so bad if their pasture had been enough to sustain the herd of ninety-seven they'd accumulated. Or if they'd supplemented the grass with hay and grains. But they hadn't. Worse, the horses had been shot at with BB guns when they'd gotten into things looking for food. As a result, the entire herd was starving and skittish as hell.
Kimber was four or five when she was picked up from there. Skin and bones and never been handled by a human in kindness. To say she had trust issues would be putting it mildly. To make matters worse, she was separated from her mother and another mare she was bonded to, likely her sister.
By the time Trent found her, she'd packed on both fat and muscle, but she was more rage than anything.
I'm not an idiot. I'm well aware he only brought her home in an attempt to lure me here to the ranch and back to working horses. He knew I'd take one look at her and be hooked.
He was right. About that part at least.
Kimber had me pulling my boots and shitty old jeans from the closet every spare morning I had. But after six months, all Trent had to show for his efforts was a mare he'd never be able to sell and a stubborn asshole for a friend who was never going to come back to the dream we shared as teenagers.
Two years later and I'm still the only one Kimber lets ride her. Or maybe I'm the only one fool enough to climb onto her back. No matter how much time I spend with her, she never tires of making me earn my place as her rider.
It's why she's the one I'm always drawn to. She pushes me, forces me to grow, to be better, to show up for someone other than myself.
People see horses like her and see aggression. Problematic behavior. An unreliable partner. I see a fiery strength that inspires me. A challenge I want to show up for again and again, and a partner who'll never let me become stagnant or lazy or lose sight of the fact I'm not the only one in this dance.
"I'm going to need your help, bud," I tell the mare, scratching under the mane reaching down over the front of her face. It's thick and wavy and has grown so long it drapes down an inch short of her pink nuzzle. "And not just with the other horses."
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
LIZ
For once, Jovi follows my instructions to a T and doesn't come back to the house until eight sharp. Even more unsettling, he doesn't walk in like he's done every other time since Lena and Trent moved in here. He knocks. And waits at the door for me to come and invite him in.
"What are you doing?" I ask when I find him standing on the other side, rubbing his hands together. Given we're nearly into June, it's not to warm them. Which means...is Jovi nervous?
"Coming over like you asked me to."
"Why are you standing at the door like a stranger?" I ask, vaguely aware that I'm blocking the doorway and denying him the very entry I'm implying he's entitled to.
He sighs, unfolding his hands to stuff them in his pockets.
"Look, I know I kind of overstepped today," he pauses before he adds, "several times. And I can't guarantee that it won't continue to happen. Those kids have been my family since before they were born. Just as much as they're yours. And like it or not, that makes you my family too. And I don't know how to mind my own business when it comes to family. But, I get that you're not used to that. You're all independent and private and shit, and I want torespect that. So, I'm making an attempt at establishing boundaries. This isn't Trent and Lena's home anymore. It's yours. I wouldn't take it upon myself to wander into your apartment in Seattle, so I shouldn't just walk into your house here."
Caught off guard by his speech, it takes me a second to nod. "Thank you. That's probably a good idea." I step aside and gesture for him to enter. "I made coffee," I say, pointing ahead to the kitchen.
"At this time of night?" He chuckles. "I mean, I'm used to sucking down caffeine until dawn, but I'm usually working 'til last call. You're not worried about not sleeping?"
I follow him into the kitchen and busy myself getting two cups from the cupboards for us.
"I haven't had a chance to sit at my computer once since I packed it up and brought it here. I have to at least power it up tonight and make sure everything is still operational." I've scanned my emails on my phone to make sure I haven't missed any major disaster. Like my site going down or subscriptions glitching or issues downloading images. All things that have occurred—some more often than others—and all of them detrimental to my business and thus my income. Income I can't afford to take any chances on.
"You'll find a balance," he assures me. "Now that the kids are getting back to their regular routines, you'll get some sort of schedule back too."
I swallow down my desire to argue with him. It's a kneejerk reaction. He's not saying anything I disagree with. If anything, his new habit of soothing me is freaking me out, putting me on edge. "What about you? Any idea how you're going to manage the horses and the bar business yet?"
He takes the cup of coffee I offer him, frowning for a second before he takes a sip, nods as though satisfied with the results, and says, "I have things and people in place to keep the family business running without me for the most part. I'll have to make routine check-ins a few times a month, but nothing that will take away from my work here. I promise, Liz, the ranch is my top priority for the next year. I'm going to do everything I can to see it succeed the way it needs to for the kids."
I believe him. "What about your relationship?" I don't know why I ask. Maybe seeing Brennan triggered some deeply buried longing inside me. Maybe I'm selfishly jealous of the fact Jovi has someone in his life who will be there for him through all of this. Even if that someone is a touch insecure and on the manipulative side, I don't doubt she cares for him. Misguided though those feelings are. In my opinion.
"I ended things," he says, surprising me.
