Page 34 of Head Over Spurs

And despite her initial insistence to help him with the fencing, she gave up and did just that.

She dropped down onto the grass, leaning back on her elbows and watching him get to work. It was quite the sight, his strong back muscles rippling under his shirt as he moved.

Hisback.

Sitting forward, Jules called out, “Should you be using that post driver thing with your back injury?”

“Just keep enjoying the view,” he replied. Then with a wink he turned back to his task at hand.

She rolled her eyes but leaned back all the same. As he worked his way closer to her tree, she said, “You must love it here.”

“Do you?” he replied, turning and leaning back against the fence to face her.

“I do.”

They stayed this way for some time, watching each other intently. Then he asked, “Do you feel any better?”

A chuckle escaped her. “I wasn’t fooling you this morning?”

“I see you, wild thing. You’ve never fooled me.”

What he didn’t need to say was that she failed to fool him when she insisted they could start over and ignore what happened between them.

“Want to talk about it?” He abandoned the wooden post and came to sit at her side.

“No.” She bit her lip and glanced his way. “It’s just… my dad.”

He raised an eyebrow, his expression telling her to continue.

“He seems to think I travel too much. The funny thing is, my parents are the reason that I do.”

“Why is that?” He rolled onto his side and stretched out; his head propped up on his bent arm.

“Our family’s equine center tore them apart. Leaving me bouncing around between what members I have left.” Sherolled onto her side to face him as well. “My grandfather started Graham Equestrian. Back then, he had a small operation. One barn, two instructors for lessons. Since he passed, my dad has turned it into a whole fleet of staff between a handful of barns and an indoor arena. They do private lessons, classes, boarding. All of it. But he became a different person, with values far from mine and my grandfather’s, when he took over.”

“Were you close before he took the reins?”

“We were. My parents and I weresoclose. And they were so in love. We had this magical life; I didn’t think anyone could ever have it better than me. But when my grandfather passed and my dad took everything on himself, his priorities and relationships changed too.”

“Your relationship.”

“And my mom’s. She left.”

There was a jump in his jaw as he absorbed her words. Then he sat up, pulling her into a hug. His hands spread wide across her back as she dropped her face against his neck and inhaled. “You should always be a priority,” he mumbled into her hair.

“He has good intentions,” she replied half-heartedly. “But it’s hard when he calls and asks me to be there. It doesn’t feel like home anymore.”

Nowhere did. And the ache she felt to have a home seemed to multiply when here, the feeling surging as they spoke. If she allowed herself to view Hayes Ranch differently from her other trips, then it would mean allowing herself to admit that it felt more important to her. She didn’t want to examine this feeling too closely. Acknowledge it. That would make it impossibly hard to leave.

And she was leaving.

“It’s hard to lose something that feels like a part of yourself.” His voice was wistful, clearly speaking from experience.

She watched a bird land on the branches above them. “Have you found something to replace that part?”

“I’m getting there.”

The day seemed to still around them, the only sounds coming from the gentle breeze in the tree’s leaves and the babble from the river. Jules imagined spending the rest of the afternoon like this, nestled in his embrace. The thought seemed a little too tempting.

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