Page 46 of Stolen Dreams

I roll my lips not to snort out laughing.“You have to start slow,” I say.“Step one is getting on the horse”—she watches me—“and earning Rosy’s trust before you can go fast.”

“I’m going to ride her every day,” she declares.“Will you come with me next time?”

“You bet,” I say.“We can ride her after school.”

“Yes,” she cheers.“We also brought you lunch.”

“Did you?”I ask as she turns and walks back to Emmett to get the bag from him.

“We can’t eat with you,” she says as she hands me the bag, “because you have to do your homework.”I smile at her as I take the bag from her.“I got you a sweet treat,” she says, whispering but not really whispering.

“Thank you,” I say, and then my eyes fly to Emmett.

“Come on, Lucy.Let’s go so Lilah can get back to work.”He motions with his head.“Time to show you how to muck the stalls.”

“Gross,” she mumbles, “Wyatt told me it stinks.”Her nose goes up, and her face grimaces a disgusted look.

“It does.”I mimic her face.“But that’s what you have to do when you love your animal.”

“I guess,” she concedes as she walks toward Emmett.

“Let me know if you’ll be joining us for dinner,” he says, and I look down at the document.

“I might be late.You should eat without me.I don’t know how long I’ll be.”

“Got it.I’ll leave the door open,” he says.I want him to come to me and kiss me.Pull my head back so I can look up at him and kiss my lips.I swallow down the words and don’t ask him to come kiss me, watching him turn and walk away with Lucy by his side.

I close my eyes and open the bag, taking out the wrap they got for me.“Focus,” I remind myself.

I turn my eyes back to the thesis I’m doing about understanding equine-assisted psychotherapy and horse-healing relationships with PTSD.I get up a couple of times to pee, and to get myself some water.The sun goes down, and the only light in the office is from my computer.My eyes start to burn when I finally decide to call it a night.Getting up and stretching, I feel the achiness in my lower back.I save my work before shutting down my computer and heading out the back door toward my truck.The only sound in the air is the sound of the crickets coming from the forest, looking to see even the lights in Charlie’s house are off.

I make my way over to Emmett’s house, noticing the house is dark, except for the soft light by the front door.Walking up the steps, I turn the handle and open the door.The front entry is in darkness almost, a soft light coming from the family room shines all the way to the front door.

I kick off my shoes and quietly walk inside, stopping when I see him lying on the couch watching television in the dark.The light from the stove adds to the light from the television, allowing me to see him.“Hey,” I say softly.

He looks over at me and sits up.“Hey,” he replies softly.I see him as he stands up wearing just gym shorts and nothing else.

“Sorry I’m so late.I didn’t even notice what time it was until my neck screamed at me from looking down for so long.”

“Did you eat?”he asks, and I shake my head.

“I’m going to just make some toast.”

“I saved you dinner,” he informs me, closing the distance between us.“Why don’t you go and get a shower and I’ll warm it up for you?”he suggests, and all the words stay stuck in the back of my throat.

“Okay.”That is the only thing I can say as I walk toward the bedroom where my things are.

“Lilah,” he calls, making me stop, and I look over my shoulder at him, “go use mine.It’s bigger.”

“Okay,” I agree, “I’m just going to get my things.”

I walk as quietly as I can into the hall, seeing Lucy’s room dark with her door almost closed as I go to my room.I head to my bag and open it, grabbing a pair of shorts and matching shirt, before heading out and seeing him in the kitchen.“I’ll be quick,” I tell him, and he just nods at me as I hear a pan come out.“What are you doing?”

“I’m going to make you a steak.”

“But I thought you said you kept dinner for me.”I look at him confused.

“Yeah, well, I have the sides, but the steak is going to be fresh,” he informs me, and I don’t say anything.I just walk to his bedroom because I’m afraid I might just sob out.No one has ever taken care of me like that.No one has made sure I ate during the day.I mean my parents, but that is what they’re there for.I’ve never had anyone who cared enough before to make sure I ate.I walk into the bedroom and see the bedside table lamp is on and his bed is made.I walk into the bathroom and turn on the shower, quickly undressing and folding my stuff to take out with me when I leave.

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