Page 19 of The Holiday Heartbreaker

He led them out of the barn and to his truck. “I’m going to show you around all the different stables, and then, the arenas. But after that, we can go look at some of my favorite spots.”

“Do you have a PlayStation?” Benny asked.

“I don’t even know what that is,” Brody answered.

Elizabeth laughed. And when Brody got into the driver seat of the truck, she realized she had a very awkward decision to make. Either make her child sit next to a stranger, which she knew was the most horrifying thing a child could ever have happen to them, or, she was going to have to sit in the middle.

Well. She had to be a good mother. And protect her child from uncomfortable situations. Which meant she couldn’t protect herself from this one.

She got into the truck and slid to the middle of the bench seat, and Benny got in beside her, closing the door. There was the slimmest space of seat between their thighs, and Brody looked down, then up at her, those gold-green eyes clashing with hers.

Her chest went tight, her heart starting to beat faster. She swallowed hard.

“So, this has been in your family for...”

“Since the 1860s. Pretty cool. Us and the Garretts, the Sullivans, and the Kings. You’ll meet them all when we have our next town hall meeting. Assuming you want to go to it.”

“What’s the town hall meeting?”

“We have them once a month. All the families get together, all the employees of the ranch. We review the business of the ranch, and how everything’s going, and then afterward, we have a big bonfire. Lots of food. The equine therapy center is kind of a gamble. Different to the kind of thing we’ve ever done here before. But it means a lot to Gus.”

She thought of Gus, of his horribly scarred face that definitely spoke of trauma. She didn’t know what had happened to him, but she knew it was something, and she had to wonder if that was what had inspired him to do this here.

“If you’re wondering why Gus decided to start this place, you’re probably right.”

“Is he the one with the ugly face?” Benny asked.

Her son didn’t say it with malice, it was a genuine question, but it still filled her with horror. The kind that made you hot and dizzy all at once, and she could only be thankful that Benny hadn’t said that in earshot of Gus. “Benny. You can’t say that about him.”

“Sure he can,” Brody said. “We say it about him all the time.” But to Benny he said, in a more serious tone, “Gus got burned. Really badly. When he was a boy. Older than you, but still. Just a kid.”

“Oh,” said Benny, and she could tell her son felt bad, even though Brody had waved off him saying ugly.

“He was in a lot of pain for a long time,” Brody said, his voice grave. “He got hurt helping our youngest brother. Saving him.”

“That’s brave,” said Benny.

“Gus is the bravest guy I know,” Brody said. “So we might tease him sometimes, but when I look at him, what I really see is the biggest, strongest, most courageous guy around. I think he’s always wanted to help people. Because nobody really helped him. He’s the oldest of all of us brothers.”

“I’m the oldest,” Benny said, as if he was suddenly pondering that very deeply.

Those kinds of things always made her feel conflicted. Because for her, he was the only. But of course he considered his half siblings siblings. And he should. The issues were hers, not his.

“Oh yeah?” Brody asked, and he looked at her with mild curiosity.

“My dad has other kids,” Benny said, explaining not because he had picked up on Brody’s curiosity but simply because it was what kids did. “And a really big house. His wife is really nice.”

She bit the inside of her lip. And didn’t say anything.

“Well. That’s good,” Brody said, looking at her, as if he was trying to gauge her response to that.

“Yeah,” she said. “Ashley is lovely.”

“She likes horses, though,” Benny said. “Like my mom. It’s not any more interesting when she does it.”

Elizabeth supposed she could give thanks for the fact that he thought his stepmother’s equestrian pursuits were equally dull. Honestly, it would be even worse if he thought it was interesting when Ashley rode a horse, when it was boring that Elizabeth did it.

Except.

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