“I think she’s developed some weird attachment to Milo.”
Lena gave me a hard look. “Don’t even think about bringing her back to Houston.”
I grimaced at the thought, imagining Milo and a Shetland pony wreaking havoc all over my property. Clover chuffed, bumping Lena, and she laughed, giving the animal more attention.
“You like horses?” I asked.
“Minus the tiny demon? I love ’em,” she said.
“Are you interested in taking a ride?” I asked, liking the way she lit up at the question. “I could show you more of the estate that way.”
“Yes,” she said immediately. “I’d love that. Where’s your tack room?”
I showed Lena to the small room—Grandad only ever kept a few working horses at any given time, so there was no need for anything elaborate. I was prepared to walk her through what she’d need—but to my surprise, she collected all her tack herself and hauled it out to Clover’s stall. She needed a stool to saddle Clover properly, but once I’d provided that, she tossed the saddle over the horse’s back, made sure everything was secure, and climbed into her seat like she’d been doing it her whole life.
I leaned against the door of the stall, a little perplexed.
She just grinned at my shock. “What, never seen a woman saddle her own horse before?”
“I’ve never seenyousaddle a horse.”
“I contain multitudes,” she teased. I shook my head, darting into the next stall to saddle my own horse. Lena waited atop Clover until I was done. She clicked her tongue and set off at a comfortable trot, heading for the door.
I climbed into my own saddle and kicked my heels, setting off after Lena. I caught up with her at the first ridge, inclining my head in the direction of the coastline. Our horses fell in step together.
“I’m still waiting for an explanation,” I said.
She looked at me like she couldn’t tell if I was joking or not. “Did you really not know I grew up in ranching territory in Montana? What happened to you knowing things about me,husband?”
I blinked at her. Now I was really confused. “I thought you were from Ohio. Isn’t that where you went for your father’s retirement party a couple years ago?”
“That’s where my parents live now,” she explained, navigating Clover around a dip in the trail, “but it’s not where I grew up.”
“So your parents owned a ranch then?” No wonder she hadn’t seemed bothered by the sharp smell of the cattle shed when we’d walked in.
She shook her head. “No, but plenty of my friends were ranchers’ kids. I’ve been riding as long as I can remember. Actually, I think I spent just as much time on a horse as I did with my baby dolls. Though I suppose I’m a little rusty now, living that corporate lifestyle in Houston. It’s been a minute since I was in a saddle.”
“And here I thought I was going to have to give you a quick and dirty riding lesson.”
Her cheeks pinked as she stared ahead. “What are those wooden stages over there?” she asked. “Kind of overgrown in the weeds.”
“This was where my Grandad had the cabins for his Highland Adventure Camp,” I said. “That’s all that’s left of them now.”
“Did he tear them down?”
“Yeah, eventually. About a decade after he stopped having the camp, he realized they’d started deteriorating, and it was safer to tear them down so no one accidentally got hurt.”
“That’s unfortunate,” she said as we continued on, reaching a craggy bit of woodland. “I’m sure there’s a whole new generation of kids that would have really enjoyed Highland Camp.”
“I don’t doubt it,” I said, carefully navigating my horse over a felled tree. “Those were…honestly, some of the best days of my life. Camp meant so much to me. It felt sogoodto be here.”
“Because it felt bad to be at home?” she asked gently.
It wasn’t a subject I liked to talk about—but this was Lena. I didn’t need to keep secrets from her. “Yeah, home life was pretty messy and chaotic. It was a relief to escape it whenever I could. But home could have been paradise, and I think I still would have loved coming here. Spending time with Locke and Alistair. Getting to be with my grandparents.” A wave of grief settled in my chest. “Those memories mean even more to me now. I wish I’d been more grateful. Shown them more appreciation.”
“I think they knew how much you appreciated it. And I’m sure they were just glad they had the chance to be there for you,” Lenasaid. “Especially when things were messy at home. Was that during the divorce?” Her expression was sympathetic.
“I wouldn’t have said they were parents of the year even before the divorce,” I admitted. “But yeah, watching them rip into each other again and again really put the words ‘divorce battle’ into perspective. I was dragged in the middle of that, tugged back and forth between the two of them like a chew toy. But it was only so they could use me against each other. Once the matter was settled, neither of them were all that interested in having me around.”
