I slowly turned my focus back to the ring. The mare moved at a snail’s pace, her eyes alert. Her coat reminded me of Ramsey’s eyes—so dark brown it was almost black. A glimmering onyx in the fading sunlight.
I held my hand steady, waiting.
She eased a little closer. Then a little more. Her lips reached for the carrot, the hairs on her muzzle tickling my palm. This time, she didn’t bolt after grabbing the treat. She stayed still as she ate it.
Progress. Hope flickered to life down deep. I slowly pulled my hand back and reached for another carrot. Sliding it through the rails, I waited. I hadn’t stretched my arm out as far this time.
The mare took another couple of steps and gobbled up the second carrot. She didn’t move away. I held out my hand for her to sniff again. This time, I gave the underside of her chin a gentle scratch.
She jerked her head away as if startled but didn’t bolt. I froze. After a few moments, she lowered her head to my hand. I tried the motion again, lightly scratching. Her lips twitched, but she didn’t pull away.
“That’s it. See? A little massage can feel good.”
Elliott giggled. “Her lips are dancing.”
They were, indeed, twitching in a rapid movement as I stroked her.
I grinned. “That means we found one of her favorite spots.”
“She’s starting to see it’s good here. She’s safe.”
Something cracked in me at that—the fact that Elliott could recognize the need for safety at his age. I looked down at him. “I think you’re right. This has been my safe place for a long time. Now, it’s hers, too.”
Elliott looked around at the ranch, a look of longing coming back into his eyes. “You’re both really lucky.”
We were, and I’d give anything for Elliott and Aidan to have the same thing.
I tippedthe rocker back and forth as the sun slipped below the horizon. The mare nestled into the shelter connected to the round pen, but I sensed she watched me, too. I hoped there was a little more understanding. That we were beginning to weave the barest strands of trust.
“You’ve gotten farther with her than I have.”
Kai climbed the porch steps and made a beeline for me as his owner spoke. I lifted my gaze to Ramsey’s dark depths as my hands sifted through Kai’s fur. “What do you think about the name Onyx?”
He turned to look at the mare, taking her in.
“It’s her coloring but more. I looked it up. It means nail or claw in ancient Greek.”
Ramsey nodded slightly. “She clawed her way out of Hell and straight to us.”
Us.As if we were a team. I liked the idea too much.
Ramsey stepped forward and into the glow of the porch lights. “Onyx, it is. I’ll get her name plaque ordered tomorrow.”
I took in the man in front of me, seeing how ladened he was with things for the first time. A duffel over one shoulder. Grocery totes over the other. A box in his arms.
I lifted a brow. “Going camping?”
He shook his head.
“Preparing for the apocalypse?”
He grunted.
“I might need more than non-existent charades to help me guess this one.”
There wasn’t even a flicker of the amusement I could usually drag out of Ramsey.
“I’d like to stay here for a while.”