Page 32 of Undone

“He’s just happy to see you,” Josh said in a comforting voice. “He only does that for people he likes.”

I shot him a dubious look.

“Come give him a pat,” Josh said. “You can do it, we’ll wait.”

I took a deep breath, then walked closer to Indigo. I reached out my hand tentatively, and Indigo stopped moving as if he could sense that I needed stillness to feel okay about touching him. I placed my hand on the flat part of his muzzle, just above his nose, and stroked the velvety spot.

“Perfect, Zo!” Josh murmured quietly making me wonder if he’d softened his tone for the horse or me. “He loves it. How do you feel?”

I was trying to figure it out myself. Sure, there was a nervousness I couldn’t stomp down, but there was also something else. A feeling of union with the horse…an understanding. Like he was recognizing my fear and responding so that I wouldn’t feel as nervous.

“I feel like he sees me.”

Josh beamed at me. “Yes, exactly! He does.”

Indigo felt substantial beneath my hand, much bigger than the other horses I’d met this past week, but I didn’t allow myself to think about the hundreds of pounds of strength standing beside me. Instead, I focused on his gentle breathing and the way his dark eyes watched me. Then it hit me—I needed to focus on the soulful eyes for the photo.

I raised my camera and took a few slow steps back so that Indigo wouldn’t move. I framed his head, then zoomed in on his eye. The lighting was perfect, highlighting the soft folds around them and the shadows cast by his long lashes. I could see my own reflection in his eye, so I shifted position and suddenly the rolling green and blue skywas mirrored back at me. It was like the entirety of Lost Valley Ranch was contained in the depths of his eye. I snapped a few rapid images before he moved, then I paused to look at them.

One of my photography mentors had told me to never stop taking photos to survey my work, but it was one of the rules I always broke. I was glad I did, because the image was so beautiful that it made me gasp.

“Are you okay?” Josh asked, taking a few steps toward me.

“I’mamazing,” I replied, feeling the thrum of creativity replacing my fear. “Let’s keep going.”

Josh receded into the background as I got to work. I followed Indigo from a few feet away as he strolled around the paddock, the distance giving me enough courage to deal with the fact that he was free-range, waiting for the moment when the backdrop was worthy of the subject. I snapped shots of his entire body, then got low to photograph his hooves in the dirt. One of the images made it look like there were swirls of fairy dust dancing in the light around him.

I photographed the sun bouncing off of his gleaming coat. The moment he threw his head back and his mane turned into a waterfall along his neck. The way his legs stretched out in perfect symmetry as he trotted around the paddock. When I stopped to scroll, I realized that each image was more beautiful than the last.

“How are we looking?” Josh asked, his voice tentative.

“Incredible!” I cheered. I jogged to him, cradling the camera at my side, then threw my arm around his neck in victory. “I got exactly what I needed. More than I needed!”

Josh leaned down to kiss me on the top of the head, and I felt the warm glow of victory mix with the tingle of desire. Absolutelyeverything felt perfect in the moment…my work, my connection to the ranch, and the way it felt to be nestled against Josh.

We stood with our arms wrapped around one another as Indigo danced around the paddock. Wasthiswhere I belonged? It wasn’t a perfect fit, but it felt pretty darn close.

And maybe close was all I needed?

TWENTY-ONE

JOSH

We walked back to the house and Zoe looked as if she was levitating, she was so excited. She was talking so fast, I couldn’t keep track of what she was saying but her enthusiasm was contagious. I was damn proud of her. Realistically, I knew that she wasn’t fully over her fear of horses—phobias didn’t work that way—but she was a whole lot closer than she’d been when she’d first arrived.

“I’m going to upload the photos to my laptop and get started,” she said heading for the kitchen.

I followed her, an idea forming. “Sounds great, but plan on taking a break around dinnertime.”

She was already pulling the memory card from her camera and sliding it into the laptop. “I’m too excited to eat, Josh. I’ll just grab a sandwich later.”

“I thought we might go to town to celebrate.”

“What are we celebrating?” Shannon said as she walked into the kitchen.

“I took some fantastic photos of Indigo, which means I’ve taken the last of the ones I need for the website,” Zoe told her.

“That’s fantastic! Can I see them?” Shannon asked shifting to look over Zoe’s shoulder.

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