Page 26 of Captivated

I’m gonna make the most of every minute.

Then he realized he wasn’t there on vacation. He had a job to do.

Zeeb smiled. “This was a great start. You did good.”

Nate blinked. “Really?”

“Of course. You introduced yourself to two horses, you met Paul… I’d call that a success. And the day ain’t hardly started.”

Nate’s shoulders dropped a little.

I think that matters more than you wanna admit.

“I’ve got my sketching pad and pencils in here.” Nate patted his bag. “But my easel’s still in my car, so if we could pick that up?”

Zeeb nodded. “Fetch it. I’ll get the wagon rigged.”

And then Nate was gone, disappearing toward the parking lot behind the bunkhouse.

Zeeb led Sorrel into his stall. He stroked Sorrel’s mane. “You did good, ole boy. Not gonna take you with us, because that wouldn’t be good for you, but I promise, I’ll bring him back.” He gazed into the horse’s liquid eyes “You like him, don’tcha?” Zeeb smiled. “Yeah, I like him too. An’ one of these days, he’s gonna ride you.” Zeeb closed the stall door and went in search of the wagon.

Maybe I’ll get a glimpse of the real Nate Caldwell.

Whoever he was lay buried under layers of…fear? Anguish?

Zeeb had no clue, but he’d bet his bottom dollar none of it was good.

What surprised him was that he wanted to know more about the enigmatic guest.

He only got here last night, and he’s all I can think about.

“Where are you taking me?” Nate’s easel and bag were stowed behind them. Salvation had disappeared from view about fifteen minutes ago, and Zeeb steered the horses and wagon across a prairie, through huge stalks of yellow-green grass. Ahead of them were dark green trees, but what grabbed Nate’s attention was the expanse of blue above him, broken only by wisps of white cloud, as fragile as spider silk.

Zeeb pointed to a ridge ahead of them. “Up there. The trail takes us through the woods to the lake.”

Despite his nerves that still hadn’t dissipated, Nate smiled. “A lake? I love sketching and painting water. How did you know?”

Zeeb shrugged. “I’m taking you there ’cause every time I visit, I wish I had a single artistic bone in my body, to be able to capture the view.”

A cowboy who appreciated the beauty of nature?

Someone put a lot of thought into choosing this guy for my visit.

That went some way to quieting the little voice in his head, the one protesting that he didn’t know this guy from Adam, that Nate wasn’t safe.

Nate could hear his dad’s voice too.Dad trusts Zeeb.

Maybe Nate’s little voice knew shit in this instance.

He turned his mind off for a while to take it all in. They were riding through a vast open space that brought fresh meaning to the phrasebig sky. Nate loved to gaze at the sun setting on the mountains that bordered Boise, but this was sky on another scale. He and Zeeb were the only people visible, two specks crawling across the surface of the world.

“It gets to you, don’t it?”

Nate thought that had to be the understatement of the century.

“I don’t think I’ve ever been in a such a peaceful place,” he murmured.

Zeeb chuckled. “Every damn time I do this trail, I always tell the guests this is why I’m here. Life is as complicated or as simple as you make it. I love it here. I get to meet people, carve out the life I want…”

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