Page 27 of A Love So Sweet
He held her hand on the drive to his father’s house, and when he pulled into the circular driveway, he realized it had been a long time since he’d felt compelled to share the most private parts of himself with anyone. He parked and noticed Max squinting into the darkness in the direction of the house.
“Whose house is this?” Max asked.
“My father’s.” Her fingers tightened around his, and he said, “We’re not going in. My father is sleeping.” He kissed the back of her hand, and then he came around to help her out. “I thought I’d take you to meet Hope.”
“Your father won’t mind?” she asked as she stepped from the truck, looking a little nervous.
“Not at all. He’ll like that Hope gets extra love tonight.” He found Max’s careful nature incredibly alluring. Probably because he was a careful man when it came to matters of the heart. He draped an arm over her shoulder and led her across the lawn toward the barn.
“It’s gorgeous here. I can’t imagine what it must have been like growing up with all this land.”
“All this land means lots of chores every morning and night,” he said as he pulled open the barn door and the scents of his youth surrounded them. “My father grew up helping breed Dutch Warmblood show jumpers, and he followed in his father’s footsteps. When I was a kid, I would look out my bedroom window at the barn thinking about how my father’s entire life had revolved around horses and barns. I love my family and I had a great childhood here, but ranch life wasn’t what I wanted back then.”
“Maybe that’s because of losing your mom. You said you felt relief when you went away to college. Is it hard for you when you come home to visit?”
Hope craned her neck toward them, reaching for Treat as they came to her stall, her big brown eyes watching Max. “No, actually. Home is where I feel most centered. This is Hope, the horse my father gave my mother when she found out she was sick.”
“Hi, Hope,” Max said as if she were greeting a relative of his. Hope gently moved her head in Max’s direction, and Max reached up to pet her. “Horses are the most honest creatures, aren’t they?”
“I’ve never thought about them that way, but yes, I suppose so.”
“I had a friend in college who grew up on a farm, and she said horses didn’t trick each other like people did. That always stuck with me.”
“I have a feeling my brother Rex will like you. He’s the biggest horse aficionado in the family. He takes after my father in that way.”
Hope rubbed her muzzle against Max’s neck, and Max put her hand on the horse’s cheek, holding her there for a moment.
“Looks like Hope is all for Team Max.” He leaned against the stall, warmed by Max’s easy affection.
“For what it’s worth, I’m for Team Treat and Max,” she said with a sweet smile.
He loved that she could be as playful as a girl or as serious as the intelligent woman he knew her to be. “Me too, sweetness.”
“If Rex inherited your father’s love of horses, in what way do you take after him?”
Treat crossed his legs at the ankle, thinking about the question. If he believed his father’s thoughts about Hope, he’d say the tender look in Hope’s eyes as they shifted to him were those of his mother, awaiting his answer. But he had enough emotions flowing through him when he was with Max. He didn’t need to add to them.
“The easy answer is that we look alike, but I assume you want a real answer.”
She moved in front of him. “It’s been my experience thatrealis always better thaneasy.”
He reached for her hand and planted his legs in a wide stance, guiding her between them.
“Don’t think you’ll distract me from answering with your wicked kisses.” She slid her fingers into his belt hoops.
“Distract you?” He pulled her closer and kissed her neck. “Would I do that?”
She framed his face in her hands and said, “In a hot second. And it would work, so I’m holding your face right here where I can keep tabs on your mouth. No kisses until you answer.”
He chuckled. “You drive a hard bargain, Max Armstrong. I like that about you.”
Hopeneighed, her big head bobbing up and down.
“Apparently, so does Hope. Okay, let’s see. How am I like my father? You’re asking how I’m like the man who I’m not sure anyone could live up to. I’ve admired him my whole life. He’s the strongest man I know emotionally, and when it comes to standing by his beliefs. He’s a shrewd businessman, a ruthless negotiator, and a kind and generous human being. I always thought if I could be half the man he is, I’d consider myself lucky.”
“I’d say you surpassed your goal.”
“Why, thank you, sweetheart. But we have our differences. He does business with country charm, while I lost that touch years ago. I’d like to think he taught me how to maintain focus on the human aspects of business deals while not losing my edge. But my father has his downfalls, too. If you cross our family, he doesn’t let that go, as is evident by his long-term feud with his childhood best friend, Earl Johnson. But that’s a story for another day, and thankfully, I didn’t inherit that grudge-holding ability. If I had, Dane and I still wouldn’t be on speaking terms.”
