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Jason dipped his chin in a nod but before he could say anything, Lydia cut in. “Jason isn’t training the new one. Chet is.”

The table went eerily still. Well, everyone but Jason and Chet. Most of her family knew she visited the property where Jason conducted business, but perhaps they didn’t realize the extent of how often. Even though she shouldn’t feel like she’d been caught with her hand in the cookie jar, she did.

Lydia frowned. “I stopped by with the paperwork Jason forgot and the horse had just been delivered.” Explaining herself only put her more on the spot. She slumped back in her seat, hating the silence. “Anyway, I can’t learn to train on that one. She’s a little too wild.”

“Aren’t those the best kinds, though? Start to finish.” Cecelia, Jason’s fiancée, murmured. She had a sweet smile even though she was known to be ruthless in business. Her eyes drifted to Chet, and Lydia swore a knowing look passed over her face. A look that said she’d worked out a puzzle Lydia couldn’t even see. As if she could map out a future of sorts.

Then again, with her penchant for business, that made sense.

“She’s got a point,” Tate said. “Maybe you should consider shadowing over at the barn and then make your decision.”

Lydia nodded, relieved when the rest of the conversation around them grew loud enough to block out the awkward quiet that had started with Chet’s over-the-top offer.

“You’re cruel.”

He chuckled again. It was dark and warm as maple syrup straight from the source. “If you can’t take it, don’t dish it out.”

Her eyes cut to meet his. “Yeah, well, I’m a whiz when it comes to payback. Get ready, Callahan. Next time I won’t play fair.”

“Do you ever?”

They stared at each other for longer than was likely appropriate, then they both broke into grins and continued eating their food.

This friendship they shared wasn’t anything like the friendships she had with women. It was unique. She could flirt and toy with him without fear of repercussions because he didn’t want more from her than that friendship.

She could be unapologetically herself when she was around him and not worry that she’d scare him off. It was why they were so good together.

Lydia focused on the conversation at hand, throwing in her two cents every so often. She went to reach for another biscuit but when she did, her fingertips grazed an empty plate. Disappointed, she placed her hand in her lap and scooped up the last of the corn she’d been eating. When she glanced to her own plate, she found half a biscuit, already buttered.

One glance to her side confirmed Chet was currently chewing on the other half. He winked at her, and she smiled back as she picked up the bread and took her own bite.

CHAPTER THREE

Chet sat on a bale of hay while Misty trotted around the paddock. The first step was to make sure she was comfortable in her new surroundings. She didn’t like to share it with anyone, not even him. Right now, she was perfectly content to explore and stretch her legs.

Maybe he’d put Lola in the paddock with her and see how she reacted. His horse was one of the sweetest, most well-behaved horses there was. Chet couldn’t even claim that he was the one responsible for her behavior either. She simply had that kind of disposition. Always had.

Footsteps approached and a familiar form dropped down onto the bale beside him. “She really is gorgeous.” Lydia said it with awe, soft and with a degree of longing.

Chet didn’t have to look her way to picture how she was taking in the horse. From the sound of her alone, he could’ve sketched her face.

Wistful.

She didn’t have a horse of her own anymore. Freckles had been a gift from her father, but the old girl was too old for rides across the property these days. She was living a cushy life in her own corner of the barn and the pasture enclosure right next to it.

“That’s the one I was talking about,” she murmured. She said it low enough she might have been speaking to herself.

“I know.”

They turned at the same time. He kept his face blank, but a hint of a smile toyed at the corners of her lips. “How did you know? I never said anything.”

He shrugged. “I know you. There was something about the way you were looking at her the day she arrived that made me think she might have been the one.”

Lydia sighed. “Well, I missed out. I don’t think my brothers would’ve gotten her for me anyway. It’s like everyone says. She’s a little too wild. I can’t even see her competing, can you?”

“You never know.”

She looked him over. For once, she didn’t rush to fill the silence. Perhaps she’d caught what he was getting at. Nothing was set in stone. People changed. Situations changed. So did animals.