Page 66 of Not Our First Rodeo
Of course he does. It’s a gift he has, pairing horses with people. It’s probably because he’s spent so much time with them, training them for life on the ranch, but I also think it’s something he was born with, something intrinsic. His ability to find someone’s soul match in a horse.
We follow him into the stable. Maya, who is normally chatty, keeps quiet, her gaze darting around the stalls, some of which are empty, some full. Beau stops in front of a stall. The nameplate beside it says Freckles. The horse inside is beautiful, its signature spotted Appaloosa coat a stunning deep chocolate and white.
“This is Freckles,” Beau says, leaning on the stall door, hand reaching inside to pet her between the eyes. His hands look massive against her muzzle.
“Mmm,” Maya says beside me, eyes wide as she takes in the large creature before her.
Beau smiles at her over his shoulder. “Come here.”
“I’m good here,” she says.
I have to suppress the laugh that bubbles in my chest.
Beau raises an eyebrow. “You’re not scared, are you?”
Surprise echoes through me, because it’s unlike Beau to push in this way. Despite being a horse trainer, he has given lessons to many people over the years, and when faced with a nervous rider, he handles them much like he did with me, although in a less intimate fashion. He’s soft-spoken and reassuring, and he makes them feel like there’s nothing to be scared of.
But for some reason, he’s taking a different approach with Maya.
And to my shock, it works. Her shoulders stiffen, and I watch as resolve hardens her features. “No, I’m not scared of a horse.” It’s like when she’s learning something in class, challenging herself at something new.
Beau’s smile widens. “I didn’t think so. So come pet her. She doesn’t bite.” He waits for Maya to slowly move closer, her hand trembling slightly as she holds it out to the horse. “Usually.”
Maya rips her hand back, and Beau laughs, the sound warm and rough as it echoes through the barn. It sounds like sandpaper against wood and feels like a finger sliding down my spine.
“Just kidding,” he reassures her, bumping her shoulder with his own. “Here, hold your hand out flat and let her sniff it.” He demonstrates the movement for her, and Freckles huffs against his palm before moving to Maya’s. She’s standing stock-still, determination still in every line of her body.
Watching her, I finally see the differences between us, ones I missed for so long. She may be heading down the same path I was, but she’s made of stronger stuff than I am. She’s more stubborn, but in a way that will serve her well. If she loses dance, I don’t think it will destroy her. I don’t think she’scapableof being destroyed. She’s someone who will always land on her feet.
But she still needs this, needs time away from the studio, away from dance. She needs to know what else is out there for her if she ever decides that that world is too small for her. And I don’t doubt it will be.
I leave the two of them alone, walking quietly through the stable in search of Sienna. I’ve missed her in a way that I can’t even explain. When we moved to Utah, I hadn’t realized how much I’d miss the long rides Beau and I went on through the ranch land. We would sometimes do it when we managed to have a day off at the same time in Utah, but riding one of the horses at the ranch he was working on was never the same asriding Sienna. I used to live for the short visits we’d make back home when we could finally be reunited.
I stop in front of her stall, my heart swelling at the sight of her. She’s lying down, asleep, so I just stare at her. She’s too old now to ride, but I hate all the time I’ve missed with her the past year when I was avoiding the ranch, avoiding the people and the memories and the crushing feeling of home that I feel every time my feet hit the soil.
I don’t know how long I stand there, admiring her, but eventually, Beau ends up at my side. I look up at him, admiring the way he looks right now, wishing I could drag him away to a secluded spot on the ranch and have my way with him.
“Where’s Maya?”
“Bathroom,” he says. “I think she and Freckles will be a good match. Freckles is a bit temperamental.”
My brows shoot up to my forehead. “You know she’s never been on a horse before, right? And you’re going to have her start on a temperamental one.”
He shrugs. “I guess I should say stubborn.”
“You didn’t give me a stubborn horse,” I say, motioning to Sienna.
He shakes his head, a piece of dark hair falling over his forehead. He ditched the hat when we came inside, hanging it on a hook near the door. His hair is a mess, but it only manages to endear him to me more. “No, you didn’t need a challenge. You needed something to come easy to you for the first time in your life.”
His words dig into my heart, poking at old wounds there.
“You didn’t need to work for affection,” he says.
“And Maya does?”
“No, but she needs a challenge or she will get bored and head right back to that studio to do something thatdoeschallenge her.”
Once again, I can’t help but marvel at his insight, at the way he can glean so much about someone so easily. Guilt pricks at me, because I know that I had to have built my walls so strongly around myself for him to not have been able to breach them fully. I hate myself a little for it. For not trusting pieces of myself to this man who has only ever proven how well he will love me.
