Page 54 of Freeing the Wild
“You Cassie or Cassie’s twin?”he asks.
I narrow my eyes at him.
“You got my text but decided not to answer me?I mean, I can see why now.I didn’t know you were in a relationship or that you were into older … You know what, I’m gonna just go,” I ramble, starting to roll up the window.Haden puts his hand on the top of the glass.I let go of the button immediately.
“I didn’t answer your text because I slept on your sofa last night and my phone died partway through the day.I just got yourmessage when I plugged it into my truck on the way here.And Christ, Penny’s my mentor,” he says with the smuggest fucking look on his face.“But the stalking thing, Princess?Although you clearly suck at it, I have to admit it’s kind of working for me.”
“I was just curious?”I offer lamely.
“Uh-huh,” he notes, pulling at the handle on my door.“Well, since you’re so curious and you’re here …” He opens my door and nods toward the house.“Get out, and you can help.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
Haden
“He likes you,” Penny says to Cassie as she hangs a haynet inside Zeke’s stall a few hours later.After having dinner with Penny and my little stalker, I put Cassie to work.Surprisingly, she hasn’t stopped since I gave her the first job.Probably trying to save face after her little stalking episode.We’re making our final rounds after bringing in the horses that are rehabilitated enough to spend most of their day in the pasture.They’re much happier and healthier than when we first took them in.
“You know, when we got him, he was afraid of all of us.He’d not had any good experiences with humans in his life.He’s taking to you quite nicely though now.His charm is really starting to show through,” she says proudly.“You’ll have to come back.”
Cassie smiles sweetly at her.
“Hey, Zeke’s my horse, don’t go pimping him out to shiny newcomers,” I joke, and Cassie laughs.
“You like me better than Haden.Don’t you, boy?”She rubs between Zeke’s eyes.
Penny pats me on the shoulder.“Alright, darlin’, I’m spent.Are you okay to do the rest?My fingers need to dethaw.”
“Yep.You go ahead.We’ll check on Marlow before we leave.”
Marlow’s finally looking better this week.Her appetite is improving, though she still won’t go near the other horses.
Penny reaches over and offers Cassie a hug.They’ve spent the last two hours chatting, with Cassie telling Penny all about her dad and the horses she used to ride as a child.Her father was a vet just like Penny, so I could barely get a word in edgewise.Besides, I liked learning more about Cassie secondhand.
“I’m so glad you agreed to come and give Haden some help tonight.Work is always more fun when you have a helper.And you come back any time now.”
“You can bet on it,” Cassie says as she hugs her back.
When we’re alone for the first time, Cassie looks over at me as I bring the next batch of hay bags out.
“You’re just this big rugged cowboy with a heart of gold aren’t you?”she says.“Helping a nice widow out on her rescue farm?I didn’t see that coming.”
“Well, it’s certainly better than what you originally thought.”I waggle my eyebrows.
Cassie shrugs as she grabs a couple flakes and enters the stall beside another horse we have here, Woodsy.“Hey, to each their own.You never know.Everyone has their own taste.”
After the daytime hands left, Cassie has been helping me feed and give the horses that need them their meds, and despite her thorough embarrassment when I busted her spying on me, she’s more like the woman I met last fall.
I think itshouldfreak me out a little that she was wild enough to follow me.But it actually sent my blood racing in a good way, seeing her trying to hide behind the steering wheel like she was fooling someone.Ilikedseeing her all flustered and even a little jealous.Ilikedknowing she wanted to follow me,as much as I shouldn’t.And spending time with her like this?I don’t hate that either.
“So why do you do this?”Cassie asks me now.“What is it about this place that has your heart?”
I enter Marlow’s stall carefully as Cassie sits on the bench outside it.Marlow skits to the wall.“Easy now,” I tell her in a soft low voice, raising a hand slowly to let her know I’m her friend.I hold the bucket up, to show her I’m here with food.I have to feed it to her in handfuls because she won’t take it from the bucket yet.At least she’s eating something.“Penny is so damn inspiring, plus she’s my mentor.I want to do what she does one day all on my own, maybe even take over here.She’s teaching me everything she knows.”
“You want your own rescue center?”Cassie asks in surprise.
I avert my eyes from hers.She looks so goddamn pretty standing there.“If I can learn enough and save enough.”
“That’s noble.”
