When It's Right(63)
“Did you play sports in high school?”
“Baseball.”
“I can see that.”
“Why?”
“You’ve got patience. While it’s a physical sport, there’s a lot of waiting for something to happen.”
He had to admit she was right. “I guess so.”
“Have you been in many serious relationships?” The words came out soft, shy.
“One really serious. The others committed but short-lived,” he admitted.
“Why did the serious one end?”
“Not meant to be. We had a lot in common. Maybe too much. The two of us together spelled trouble with a capital T. We brought out our mutual competitiveness. We had to push the boundaries. Too bad neither of us remembered that we aren’t invincible.”
“What happened?”
“Disaster.”
Sensing he didn’t want to talk about what happened, she changed the subject. Kinda. “So, since then you’ve had several short-term relationships.”
“I’m not a serial dater. I find someone I like, and we see how it goes. When it gets too serious, I usually break it off.”
“Why?”
“Because I didn’t want serious. Not with them.” Hint. Hint. Maybe he’d given too much away too soon, but he didn’t want her to think she was like the other women who had come and gone in his life. She was different. Why? He didn’t know. She just was.
They rode in silence back to the ranch. When the buildings drew closer, she asked in her shy way, “Is this something . . . Do you . . .”
“Gillian, you know it is, and I do. Go with your gut. It’s never steered you wrong. What you see in me, whatever it is I make you feel, it’s real.”
Blake dismounted outside the stables, went to Gillian, took her by the waist, and carefully plucked her from the saddle to set her gently on her feet in front of him.
“I had a really good time,” she said to his feet.
He touched his finger under her chin and made her look up at him. “I had a great time with you.”
“You wouldn’t rather—”
“I wouldn’t rather do anything than spend time with you.” He traced his finger along her jaw, up and over her cheek, and tucked a strand of her long hair, more gold today than brown and red, behind her ear.
He kept things easy. “Time to feed the horses. Boots is nickering for you.” He led the saddled horses into the stables, Gillian following behind him. They’d made progress today. Whatever bothered her earlier had been erased from her mind and eyes with the long ride.
He liked making her happy. He liked sharing stories about his family with her. A good day. He wanted more. With her. Seemed whenever he was around her, or thought about her, he always wanted more.
Chapter 18
Gillian stood by Boots’s corral, watching him prance around the small open space. After two weeks of eating regularly, he’d gained some weight and energy. The more time she spent with him, the more relaxed and outgoing he became, and the less he shied away from everyone and everything. Proud of him for coming out of his shell, she smiled and felt lighter. His accomplishment became her own. She’d done better the last few days, not looking over her shoulder every few seconds when she worked in the barn with Boots. She didn’t try to hide from the others working in the barn, or time her entrance and exit for when there were the fewest men in there.
Things with Blake settled into a more normal friendship. She didn’t back away when he approached. She didn’t flinch when he brushed his hand down her long hair, his favorite thing to do any time she was near. The smile he gave her each morning when she came down to breakfast lit up her heart with such warmth that she couldn’t help smiling back.
He kissed her goodnight before he left each night and gave her a look like it pained him to be away from her. The longing in his eyes matched what she felt in her heart. But they’d agreed to take things slow. Make sure the friendship they were building was the foundation for a future and didn’t turn into the destruction of their lives at Three Peaks.
Today, he had some work to do training a couple of quarter horses, so she’d borrowed his MP3 player to pass the time while she waited for Justin’s school bus to arrive. She worked her way through Blake’s eclectic playlist.
Right now she didn’t have anything more important to do than hang out by Boots’s corral, watching him crop grass in the field and rest her aching arms and knee. She’d cut back on her pain meds. Each day she felt stronger.
With Jason Aldean’s “Johnny Cash” blaring in her ears, she didn’t hear anyone come up behind her. A hand settled on her shoulder and pulled her around. She expected Blake, but found herself staring up at a very tall, wide man looming over her. With her back pressed to the fence, she couldn’t step away. He was saying something to her, but with the music blasting in her ears, she didn’t hear him. She pulled one earbud out.