“I’ll give her free riding lessons and even throw in free veterinary care for life,” he wheedled.
That was tempting.
“If it doesn’t work out, I’ll take him of your hands, no questions asked.”
“I seriously doubt it won’t work out. Makayla’s crazy about horses.”
“Exactly,” he said with a grin.
“It would make her the happiest kid in Montana.” She sighed. “And I suppose that’s the whole point of us moving out here to the farm. Fern knew how desperately Makayla needed this place.”
“I think Fern knew you needed it, too,” he said quietly.
She stared at him thoughtfully as she absorbed that truth bomb. Had she and Makayla really been that miserable and unhappy in their little apartment in town? She said reflectively, “Our life wasn’t bad before. But it was . . . small.” She looked around at the whole farm. “This place is so wide open and free. Makayla and I both are unwinding out here. I didn’t realize how tightly wrapped we both were until we got here.”
He nodded slowly in agreement. “I’m glad you decided to accept Fern’s challenge and take on this place.”
She laughed shortly. “Fern didn’t leave me much choice. No way am I depriving my child of the opportunities a large trust fund will give her.”
He tilted his head to one side. “Why did you walk away from your own trust fund, then? Fern told me you left behind millions to stay in Montana.”
“I figured out that money buys pleasure but not happiness. There’s no question that having money makes life much easier and means you don’t have to worry about lots of things. But my parents love money, not family or friends or anything else that really matters. I realized I would work a job and come home exhausted, scrimp and save to make ends meet, and sit up nights worrying about the bills, surrounded by people I love and who love me, than live the empty, cold, loveless life they gave me.”
“Wow,” he said softly. “That’s . . .”
“A lot?” she supplied. “Intense? Misguided? Stupid?”
He replied dryly, “I was going to go with something like wise or profound.”
“Oh.” She blinked. “I’ll take that. Most folks around here think it was the dumbest decision they’ve ever heard of.”
“They have reasonably happy families and loads of friends, which means they have no frame of reference for your choice,” he responded.
“That’s a kind way of looking at it.”
Silence settled between them.
Murphy snorted inside the horse trailer and gave the front partition a whack with a hoof to remind them of his presence. It broke the spell that had them staring at each other like a pair of shy teenagers at a school dance.
Tessa sighed. “Fine. She can have the horse. On a trial basis.”
“Thank you,” he said fervently.
“I believe I’m the one who should be thanking you. This is an extremely generous gift. Too generous, honestly.”
“If it makes you feel better, I’ll tell Makayla I’m letting her ride him in return for her caring for him.”
She nodded, relieved. “That would make me feel better about saying yes.”
“Done. Now let’s get this fellow out of the trailer and introduce him to the other animals.”
He backed out a stocky bay horse with a pretty white star on his forehead. He had big, gentle brown eyes and stopped to sniff Tessa. He offered his forehead for a rub, and she obliged, charmed.
“Well aren’t you the sweetest thing ever?” she murmured.
Dillon grinned. “You can ride him, too, you know.”
“No thank you. A rocking chair is exactly my speed.”
