Returning to Brielle, Colt became suspicious when he glanced over at Bluegrass. The mare was calm and munching away on some nearby grass. The animal hadn’t been spooked, so it seemed as if Brielle had simply fallen off. Why?
“Were you telling me the truth earlier? Have you ridden before?”
When her cheeks flushed and she refused to meet his gaze, Colt was furious. “You don’t lie about something like that, Brielle. You could have been seriously injured, far worse than the few bumps you have right now. This land isn’t smooth and it’s not a trail for beginners.”
“I wanted to ride, to see the land, and you never would have brought me out here if you’d known I hadn’t been on a horse before,” she said, her shoulders tense, her eyes determined.
He had to respect her for wanting to learn more about the area, but he didn’t appreciate being lied to, especially about something so important.
“I still would have brought you out,” he said, though she was probably right — he most likely wouldn’t have, certainly not while she was astride her own horse.
“No, you wouldn’t have. Everyone here pretends I don’t even exist. I’m sick of it! I own this place and no one will let me do anything!”
Colt’s anger diminished as her voice rose. Did she actually want to learn how to run this place, or was she just frustrated because she didn’t know how? He was confused, and it was an emotion he wasn’t used to.
So instead of facing the issue, he focused on bandaging her up. He had to think. That’s the only thing that would help right now. They were about an hour away from the house now, or maybe a little more, depending on how slowly they went. And they’d gotten such a late start.
He was quiet as he finished up, and then he looked at her and took a deep breath. “You’re going to have to ride on my horse on the way back.”
He knew that was going to test every ounce of endurance and control he had in his body. Because now wasn’t the time to see how much chemistry the two of them had together.
She gaped at him, and took in a few of her own deep breaths. “I’ll be fine on my own horse.”
“Sorry, Princess. You ride with me, or we both walk, and I’m telling you, we’re a long way from the house if we go by foot.”
He was firm, and her eyes narrowed. He knew she hated it when he called her Princess, and she also hated to be told what to do, but it was something she was going to have to get used to. She deserved that name. Besides, he had to create distance between the two of them if he was expected to ride with her pressed against him for the next hour.
“Whatever, Colt,” she said at last, though her body was tense as he helped her to her feet. She was limping when he led her over to his horse, and he knew she was in more pain than she was letting on. This wasn’t going to be a pleasant ride for either of them.
The sun was getting low in the sky, and they’d be lucky to make it back to the house before it set. Gathering the reins to her horse, he tied a lead rope on, and then helped Brielle up on his horse before joining her and setting out toward her house with Brielle sitting in front of him — with her curvy ass pressed against him.
This was going to test him to the very limits. They were silent as they rode the miles back to her place, and Colt recited every church hymn he could remember. It was a good thing his mother had made him attend Sunday school for so many years. Maybe it was time to start going again.
Conversation. They needed to have a conversation.
“Where did you grow up?”
Brielle was quiet for so long that he thought she was just going to ignore him. When he’d given up, she finally spoke. “In Maine. It was a small seaside town, but I loved it as a kid.”
“And did that change?” he asked when she paused a while.
“Everything changes,” she said with such a sigh that he felt it run through him. What was her real story? When she was silent for a while longer, he decided to speak about himself.
“I grew up right here in Sterling. Loved it then, love it now. This community, while very small, has the greatest people you will ever want to know. I could go anywhere, but I choose to stay here.”
“Have you ever left?”
In the moment, Colt didn’t even think about the fact that he was supposed to be a ranch hand. “Yeah, I’ve done some traveling. I got my MBA at Harvard. Met some of my best friends there. To this day we’re still as close as brothers.”
“Harvard? You went to Harvard and you’re a ranch hand?”
Crap! There was the thing about lying again. He was silent for a minute while he tried how to answer as honestly as he could.