Page 37 of Shattered Mind

“Hey.” My brothers voice interrupts my internal dilemma.

I turn to him as he approaches, hand in hand with Savannahs daughter, Reign. “Hey.”

“Uncle Gray, do you have a new horse?” Reign asks, and my heart melts slightly at the endearment.

“I do. This is Casper.” I gesture towards the horse.

“Can I pet him?” She asks, approaching the fence and I step forward, swooping her up into my arms before she can get too close.

“Not yet. He’s not quite ready to be touched by people yet.” I explain.

“How’s it going with him?” Hunter asks.

“We’re getting there. Slowly.”

“Why can’t humans touch him?” Reign asks, her eyes wide with innocent curiosity.

I smile at the young girl softly. “Because the last human that touched him wasn’t very nice, so now we have to earn his trust.”

Her green eyes focus on the horse as she mutters a quiet, “okay,” before moving onto the next topic.

Watching her talk animatedly, the way her eyes light up when she tells me all about her new school and the friends she’s already made, has me thinking of Rueben’s daughter, Sapphire, and I make a plan to introduce the two girls at some point.

“You think you’ll be able to ride him any time soon?” Hunter asks and I look at Casper thoughtfully.

“I’m not sure. I’m gonna attempt to saddle him first. See how he handles something being on his back. As far as I’m aware, he’s never been ridden so it’s likely he’s never been saddled.”

Hunter nods as he watches the horse graze on the haystack in the corner of the paddock. He finally looks like himself again. After his surgery, he lost weight. His skin became paler from the lack of sunlight, and he just didn’t look like himself. But as I look at him now, the colour has returned to his cheeks. His shoulders look stronger, and he has an air of calm about him.

I think as the oldest, Hunter felt a lot of the pressure that comes with running the ranch. Felt the pressure of settling down and starting a family.

Running a ranch can be hard. The hours are long, and the work is gruelling, so finding time for anything else can be damn near impossible, but since Savannah came into his life, he has seemed lighter somehow. Like the load he had been carrying for the last few years has finally lifted and he’s at peace with life.

I don’t know how he juggles all the responsibility he has and still makes time for his family, but he does, and I have nothing but respect for him.

A hand clapping me on the back jolts me from my thoughts. “If you need a hand with him, let me know,” Hunter says as he reaches for Reign. I give him a nod as he turns and walksback towards his house.

CHAPTER 18

OLIVIA

I’m avoiding Grayson. And succeeding.

It’s been two weeks since I acted like a dog on heat and dropped to my knees in front of him, and so far, I’ve managed to steer clear of the man that somehow loosens all my inhibitions with just a look.

The thing that I’ve come to learn about small towns is, you can try to run from your problems, but you can’t hide.

After Savannah announced to the entire café that I’d slept with Gray, word has spread, and I’ve spent the last two weeks avoiding knowing looks from customers and brushing off their inappropriate questions.

Last week as I sat down for my lunch break, Mrs Stirling took the seat opposite me and looked me dead in the eyes as she asked me if the rumours about him being a dark horse in the bedroom were true. I ended up choking on my coffee in a bid to keep from spewing it all over the older woman with zero filter.

I’m not sure which rumours she was referring to, but I made a mental note to find out from the man himself if I ever grow the balls to face him again.

And it seems my best friend has made it her life’s mission to keep me updated on all things broody cowboy. If she’s not showing up in the café then she’s texting me, filling me in on how he’s withdrawn from everyone, spending all his time withCasper- the newest horse he’s training.

The horse I named.

Not gonna lie, when she told me the horses name, I got a little giddy. A strange warmth had spread through my chest, and I found myself smiling like a fool at the phone.

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