“I hope I’m doing this right. I have no idea,” I confessed, holding the grooming brush up.
“You can’t really do it wrong. Sav will be grateful; she can’t get out here a lot with the baby due soon.” He took the brush out of my hands and disappeared into a small room at the back of the barn.
“Marley’s Savannah’s horse, right?” I asked as I followed him into the room. He nodded as he put the brush onto one of the shelves.
Looking around, the small room was full of saddles and brushes and what I was guessing was riding equipment. I ran my hand over the smooth leather of one of the saddles, inhaling deeply. The smell was overwhelming, and I found that I loved the scent. Looking up at Brody I saw he was watching me and grinning. “What?” I asked, embarrassed.
“I love the smell too. Nothing quite like it.” He paused. “You ever ridden a horse?”
I laughed, “Nope. Back there in the barn was probably the closest I’ve ever been to one.”
“What? No horses in Westwood then?”
“Well, yeah, I’m sure there were, but horse riding is expensive and my mom couldn’t afford to give me things like that. I knew she couldn’t, so I never asked,” I told him honestly.
“Horse riding is a perk of the job if you work here. What do you say? Do you feel like it?” His eyes sparkled with excitement and I couldn’t help but smile. Riding was obviously something he enjoyed doing and I was excited to give it a go.
“I’d love to, I think my ribs should be okay.”
“Shit! I’d forgotten about your broken ribs.” He paused for a minute and looked around the room. “Got it!” He reached up to one of the higher shelves and grabbed down a huge saddle. “You can ride with me.”
“Ride with you? Like on the same horse?”
“Yep. This is a double saddle. Come on, we’ll take Titan.” He took my hand and pulled me back into the barn, stopping in front of a stall with a beautiful black horse inside.
“I think I’d be okay on my own horse.” If I was honest I was nervous to have to ride so close with him.
“If we’re doing a tour of the ranch, we could be out for a couple hours. I don’t want you to be in pain,” he explained. “If you’re finding it okay, we can switch places and you can ride up front.”
“Okay,” I conceded, nerves swirling in my stomach at the thought of spending two hours alone with Brody. I watched as he saddled up Titan, patting him gently on the neck when he was done. Turning to me, he smiled.
“Ready?” I nodded and followed him as he led Titan outside. “I’ll mount first and then I’ll help you up.” I watched as he mounted Titan, making it look easy. “If you put your left foot in the stirrup and hold on to my arm, I’ll lift you up.” I did as he said and wrapped my hands around the top of his arm. “When I lift you, swing your right leg over Titan. When your ribs are better, I’ll show you how to mount properly. For now, this is going to be the way that hurts the least.”
“Okay,” I mumbled, the muscles in his arms tensing as he lifted me. I swung my leg over the back of Titan like he’d said, landing in the saddle. Pain shot up my side and I gasped, my eyes watering.
“Are you okay?” he asked, his voice full of concern. He turned in the saddle and rested his hand on my leg, his thumb stroking over the material of my jeans. Unable to answer him, I took a few deep breaths and waited for the pain to subside. After a few seconds, I looked up into his worried eyes.
“I’m okay. It just came a bit sharp that’s all.”
“Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea? We should wait until you’re better.”
“No, please, Brody. I’m up now. I’m good, I promise.”
“Are you sure?”
“I promise to tell you if it’s too uncomfortable and we can head back.” He looked at me for a few seconds before nodding and turning around.
“You might want to hold on, Quinn,” he said reaching for the reins.
“Hold on to what?” I looked down at either side of the saddle for something to grab hold of.
He chuckled, “Me, sweetheart. Wrap your arms around my waist.” Hesitantly, I snaked my arms around him, my palms coming to rest on his rock-hard stomach. “That’s it. Now, hold on tight.” I gripped his shirt as he gently kicked his boots against Titan, forcing him to move. “I’ll take us up through the rest of the guest accommodation and show you where you’ll be working. Then we’ll go down to the river and you can see where the guests are taken on excursions.”
I nodded behind him, my forehead resting on his back. I could feel a slight twinge in my ribs with each movement, but it was bearable. His hand came to rest over mine and he gently squeezed it. “You can release your death grip on me. You’re safe,” he assured me, amusement evident in his tone.
“Sorry,” I muttered, smoothing down his shirt and resting my hands across his stomach. He smelled so good, a mixture of aftershave and outdoors. Butterflies swarmed in my stomach as his hand remained on top of mine, his other holding the reins. Lifting my head from his back, I looked around. There were about fifteen cabins stretching out as far as I could see, and a smaller version of the ranch house was set amongst them.
Tapping his stomach to get his attention, I asked, “What’s that house?” He turned to look at me before his eyes followed mine. Pulling Titan to a stop, he turned him to