Page 69 of Off-Limits Love
They’d texted some last night. He’d used the excuse about needing to know her riding experience and now knew she’d ridden a horse once as a kid. They’d also talked a bit about Sam’s health and decline, and she’d filled him in on a few more heart-crushing details, like how Sam insisted he be moved to hospice once he got to the point he could no longer care for himself.
According to Mak, Sam said a man had his pride and his Itty-bit wasn’t going to see her uncle’s man parts.
So once Sam got to that point, they’d all be visiting Sam at the hospice center nearby.
It was another reminder to check in with his brothers on the offer they were putting together to buy Sam out. Dawson was a busy man doing his corporate day job, but he didn’t want his brother putting this on the back burner until he got around to it.
As to riding, normally Jameson or Hud was there to go over the basics with the riders, but Finn hadn’t wanted either of them here for this trip.
For one, Hud would’ve saddled up to come along and flirted with Mak the entire time.
The fact he was jealous of his kid brother’s ability to charm women was a thorn in his side, but it was true.
At least with this particular woman. They might only be friends at Mak’s insistence, but Finn didn’t want Hud flirting with her—or dancing with her or anything else.
It had been all he could do to keep from strangling Hud when he’d cut in at the bar the other night and demanded his chance to dance with Mak. And that hug yesterday? Hud was gonna lose a hand if he kept it up.
Finn waved Mak closer to Sadie and fought off a smile.
Mak was so short he normally would’ve led her over to the mounting block the kids used when they came to ride.
Instead he positioned her so he could help her himself. When she was in place, he put his hands on her waist.
Mak stared up at him, bright blue eyes blasting into him with a rush of memories. All of those kisses inside the party barn and his truck…
His gaze dropped to her lips before he forced it back up and tightened his grip.
He lifted her up and into the saddle with ease, loving the sound of her soft gasp and the laugh that followed. He ran his hand from knee to ankle to fit her kid-sized foot into the stirrup and adjust them to suit.
“Thanks,” she murmured after he’d moved around to the other side and finished with the second.
He gently squeezed her calf and moved around Sadie’s head, giving the horse a quick pat before gathering Duke’s reins from where he’d let them fall.
Neither horse had moved from where he’d led them, both used to the routine and all the riders over the years.
Finn swung up into the saddle and gazed at Mak one more time. She lifted her head to meet his stare, an excited smile on her beautiful face.
He went over the basics in a low voice to try and disguise the stutter that determinedly presented itself despite his best efforts.
“Got it,” she said. “Okay. I can do this.”
He took the lead, and without prompting, Sadie fell into step behind Duke. Mak wouldn’t have to do much as far as guiding the horse because Sadie knew exactly what her job was, which was why he’d chosen her for Mak today.
Mak could basically drop the reins, and Sadie would plod along just like she knew to do.
They made their way through the gate at the property line and used the well-worn path through the woods.
The path wasn’t wide enough to ride side by side yet, but it opened up farther into the interior.
“It’s beautiful here,” Mak said from behind him. “Like a scene from a movie or book.”
They were in the scrub, and from her words, he guessed Mak didn’t spend much time in the woods. But then there weren’t a lot of woods left in the Wilmington area unless she made a point to seek them out in the well-groomed parks.
He glanced back to check on her and caught his breath when he took her in. Mak had her head tilted back, chin up, face lifted toward the sky, a happy, gentle smile on her beautiful face.
The sun peeped through the limbs and cast Mak in a haze of gold as she took in the limbs swaying above her head, her natural beauty enhanced by the smile she couldn’t seem to stop. “Doing okay?”
The words weren’t perfect but better than they might’ve been. Maybe Hud was right, and he’d eventually stop stuttering around Mak. Then again, seeing as how she made his pulse race, maybe not.
