“The bottle and formula are in the refrigerator in the tack room.” He pointed to the door next to the stall. “She’s due for a feeding in about an hour. In the meantime, feel free to walk around. Jim Bob, our manager, will help if you need it. He’s always around.”
“We should be fine. She’s a sweetie. Thank you, Gavin.” Her eyes shone as she swiveled on the balls of her feet and smiled up at him.
It was rude to walk out without another word, but he didn’t trust himself to say anything else at that point. In the six months they had been together, he had never felt an iota of anger, only pleasure in her innocence, embracement of his dominance and her submission. As if witnessing her heart-wrenching breakdown on the road and then the stoic way she’d pulled herself together and replaced her tire wasn’t hard enough to cope with, his fury upon seeing her jittery nervousness and hearing the fear in her voice when she said her life was a mess kept building. He was an alpha male, used to taking charge and fixing problems, but he couldn’t do either with Aislyn until she trusted in him again, at least enough to tell him her plight.
****
Aislyn stood and looked out the opened window in the stall to see Gavin swing up onto a huge black stallion and take off at a gallop across the field. She wished he had asked her to go with him, missing him already. If she’d had any inkling she would succumb to wanting him again so fast, with the same intensity as the last time, she might not have subjected herself to this pain. Who am I kidding? Where else would I have gone? It was obvious she had not moved on as well as she had thought.
She watched until horse and rider disappeared from sight before turning her attention back to the foal. Jim Bob came by, a fifty-something, short, wiry man with a friendly smile, and showed her how to assist the baby onto her wobbly legs and guide her around the stall and then how to prepare her feeding. Sitting on the ground, Aislyn cuddled her sleek head in her lap and stroked her neck as Lily suckled on the bottle, her large dark eyes glued to her with trust the whole time. Tending the needy foal helped fill the emptiness inside her but she still found herself aching for Gavin’s return. From the clop of horses’ hooves and an occasional burst of laughter that filtered through the walls, there were several ranch hands busy working around the stable yard.
Jim Bob returned and leaned his arms on the stall gate, his weathered face creasing in a broad smile. “You’ve got a knack with her.”
Aislyn wondered how long he had worked on the ranch and thought about pressing him for details about Gavin’s life, but nixed that idea. She would much rather Gavin told her himself. “I don’t know about that. I’m just winging it. She’s a sweetie, so that helps.” Getting to her feet, she brushed the straw off her jeans as she asked, “Is there anything else I can help with around here?”
“Come have a sandwich with me and we can discuss your options for the afternoon.” He held the stall gate open for her.
“Do you have an extra? I don’t want to take your lunch.” She was surprised at how hungry she was. She’d lost interest in food after she and Gavin split and it had never returned with the same gusto she used to enjoy.
“The break room is kept stocked. You’ll have your choice. Do you ride?” he asked as she followed him into the room next to the tack room, where she’d fixed Lily’s bottle.
“I haven’t ridden in years but would love to explore some of the ranch.” And watch Gavin at work. He gestured toward the large, restaurant-sized refrigerator and she peeked inside as she asked, “Do you have an easy one to handle?”
“Sure do. Trixie is an older Pinto, happy to walk slow. I’ll check your seat while you ride her in the corral first then point you toward one of the trails that will take you out by the lake. The guys should be mending fences out that way.”
“Then, I’m game. Thanks.”
They sat outside at a long picnic table. Jim Bob introduced her to three younger guys, all very polite, none seemingly surprised at her presence. Their easy acceptance of a stranger landing on the boss’s doorstep made her wonder about the women Gavin had been involved with since they’d parted. A stab of jealousy pricked her chest and she made an effort not to go down that road.
Thirty minutes later, Aislyn rode the black and white mare out of the corral, waving to Jim Bob as she veered toward the east. Like riding a bike, she easily remembered her riding lessons from childhood and got into the rhythm of keeping her seat within a few minutes of circling the corral. Rocking with the Pinto’s smooth gait, she grew warm under the summer sun, grateful for the hat Gavin loaned her. She followed a path alongside the woods, the height giving her a clear view of just how expansive the McCullough ranch was. A short time later, she pulled up, squinting across the meadow decorated with colorful wildflowers when she spotted several cowboys riding among a herd of brown and white Herefords grazing around a shimmering lake.
It was easy to pick out Gavin, even from this distance. He and his brothers sat taller than the other two riders. Dismounting, she grabbed the reins and started forward on foot, admiring their skilled maneuvers as they guided the cattle inside a fenced area. She hugged close to the tree line, wanting to watch them unnoticed,
