That makes me chuckle. “You think horses fall in love?”
“I think everything falls in love, including you.”
“I just wanted to be a cowboy.” Me in another life.
“You’ve been different since you’ve been back. Something happened at school—is it your graduate student?”
“No,” I answer too quickly, and Hana laughs, poking my arm with her finger.
“Got you—so thereissomeone?”
“There’s no one, Hana.”
I push the memory of Reanna and the alley from my mind. It’s been a struggle since that lapse of judgment happened, waking up with a tent in my sheets, the echo of her moans in my memory. I’ve been in relationships before, but this feels like obsession. I’m not sure how I’m going to finish the semester.
You and I are adults. That’s all that matters…Her words torment me. It’snotall that matters. My reputation matters, the school matters, my position.
“Well, something is definitely on your mind, and I can tell it’s got you on edge. If it’s not a woman, I can’t imagine what else it could be.”
“It’s so good to be home.” I slant an eye at her. “Always love playing twenty questions.”
She holds up both hands. “Fine! No more questions. You should go for a ride, though, since I can’t do it now. Dancer needs the exercise.”
“I think I will.” Giving the horse a pat, I start for the tack room.
Hana stays at the stall, calling to me. “Blake thought it would be fun for us to do a little girls’ weekend before I’m too big to enjoy myself.”
I toss a bridle over my shoulder, lifting a saddle and blanket off a wooden sawhorse and carrying them back to where she’s standing. “That so?”
She lifts the latch, opening the door for me, and I put the blanket and saddle on top.
“I think it’s the same weekend you have fall break. Maybe you could come home and check on the horses while we’re gone?”
“Where will Hutch and Scar be?”
“Scar thought they should tag along in case I go into labor. You know how he is.”
“And Hugh?” Not that her elderly uncle rides much anymore.
“He’s visiting his friend in North Carolina—the one with a place near the Biltmore.”
The one he ran off to when we were first pulled into this mess. Sifting through the dates in my head, fall break is a few weeks away, and I don’t have anything on my calendar, no reason to stay on campus…besides her.
“Yes, I’ll come back.”
“Such a good brother.” She gives my arm a playful squeeze. “Thank you.”
I give her a tight smile. She has no idea. I finish dressing the horse, and lead her out of the barn. Once we reach the open field, I give her an encouraging nudge, and she takes off at a brisk canter, covering the lush pasture at a smooth clip. It’s not long before we reach the backwoods of Hugh’s immense property.
Dancer and I know these grounds so well. The value of a good horse is lost on most people these days, but Dancer was my faithful friend. No one could steal her. She wouldn’t go anywhere with anyone but me or Hugh.
Harry had a broomstick, but growing up with an absentee dad and a mother who tried very hard, I felt like I had a lot in common with that boy wizard. My problem was I didn’t have any magical powers. Still, we could ride fast and far, and it felt like flying.
A narrow creek divides the pasture land from the start of the denser trees. When we reach it, I slide off and allow her to drink while I glance up at the surrounding foliage. It’s a beautiful setting, and without warning, I imagine bringing Reanna here. It’s peaceful, a little like she described her life before her father was killed. I have no reason, but I think she would love it like I do. I think she would understand why I want to share it with her.
It’s when I know this is not simply an obsession. Her intelligence appeals to me. She’s beautiful, yes, and sexy as hell, but she’s also determined and strong. We’ve both lost loved ones, but I had Hutch. I wasn’t completely alone. I don’t want her to be alone.
Climbing onto the large beast, I return to the barn at a more leisurely pace. I remove Dancer’s saddle and blanket in the breezeway, and I carry the bridle and all the tacking to the storage room, grabbing a brush on the way out.