Page 51 of Silent Heart

“You ever ridden a horse?” I asked, stepping aside so Kole could mount. He was tall enough and wouldn’t need a stool.

“Not recently.”

Another nonanswer. I was becoming apt at reading his tells. He fought hard not to have any, which meant I could pick them up when they were there. That evasion tactic was one of them. He’d ridden horses before. How many, how often—those were guesses. But the way he settled into the saddle, didn’t reach for the pommel, gripped the beast with his knees…this man knew how to ride.

More of that liquid heat buzzed between my legs as I drew Lilac from her stall. I nudged Governor forward so I could close the door behind my mare.

“Going riding, I see,” Ottis observed.

No shit, Sherlock. “Yep.” I eyed my cousin where he held one of the sobbing kids. “Have them move out of the way. I don’t want them spooking the horses.”

“Daddy! I want to ride,” the child wailed.

I adjusted Lilac’s straps, knowing the exact words that were next to dump from my cousin’s mouth.

“Hey, how’s about you let them sit on your lap, Harley?” Ottis gave me a sly grin. “Take them up and down the driveway before you go on your ride. Ya know? Make the kids happy.”

I swung into the saddle and something snapped. “You know what, Ottis? No. These are my horses, I take care of them. This is my one day off from the clinic, and I’m going riding with a friend.”

My cousin gaped at me. But the floodgates were open.

“I’m not here to make your kids happy. That’s your job. Be a parent for a freaking change.”

“Harley! What the heck’s gotten into you?” My cousin slid a look to Kole and back at me.

He probably assumed I was trying to impress the rich man.

I wasn’t.

I couldn’t take another screaming kid and a family member asking me when it was my turn, while they would rather drink beer and relax because they were so stressed out. Well, I was tired too.

“I work my ass off all week. I’m working again tonight, and I’m taking this afternoon for a little me time. I’m not here to entertain your kids,” I snapped, and with a sharp kick to Lilac’s flank, I bolted through the barn door.

Good horse that she was, she gave the oblivious, spoilt kids a wide berth. The clipped sound of rapid footfall sounded behind me. When we were halfway down the drive, Kole urged Governor beside me.

“Sorry, you had to see that.” I pulled up on Lilac, slowing her to a walk. “That cousin in particular just grinds my goat.”

“Does he sell cars?” Kole asked, flicking the reins easily.Expertly.

“No, why?”

Kole shrugged. “Something about him.”

I could see it. “He’s a manager at Walmart. Drives a Lexus that he can barely afford and thinks he’s better than us.”

Kole hummed, and we fell into a comfortable silence. I knew someone would talk to me later. The whole family was probably buzzing about my new friend. They likely made assumptions about how I was putting on airs, and thinking I was better than I was. The truth was, I was just at my breaking point.

No one asked me about my plans for the fall. Not once the whole dinnertime. At Easter, the news was still fresh enough that I’d been the juicy topic. But everyone disapproved of my career change, so they decided if they ignored the situation, it would go away. It was the silence before the storm. This fall, all hell would break loose.

“Are those edible?” Kole’s question broke through the turbulence in my mind.

Looking at where he pointed, I let out a long laugh. “They’re delicious.”

Stopping Lilac, I swung off her back, stooped, and plucked a sun ripened berry off the stem. I held it out to Kole. Before I dropped it in his big palm, I noticed the calluses, the bumps and ridges, and the scars. I knew how warm they felt against my skin. How their strength leached into me with those touches.

“Are they some variety of berry?” Kole examined the deep red fruit.

“They’re wild strawberries. That’s why they’re smaller and have more seeds, but I promise the flavor is a million times better.” I was already bending, searching for more. There were plants growing right off the trail. Taking a canvas tote from my saddlebag, I began to fill it.

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