It really didn’t.
Armor around the heart already working? Definitely.
As I turned the corner to the next hallway of stalls, my eyes fell on a beautiful white horse with gray specks on her coat. She stood in the middle of the aisle; a rope attached to either side of her halter keeping her in place. I walked slowly up to her as she tossed her head and snorted. There was a name plate on the side of a nearby open stall. It read: Carolina.
“You’re Carolina?” Okay, it seemed that I didn’t have anything to worry about. Carolina was a horse. A big, beautiful horse. I sighed in relief and held out my hand for the horse to sniff. “Nice to meet you. I’m Charlotte.”
She made a clicking sound with her mouth and pressed her velvety smooth nose into my hand. I giggled, feeling the tickling sensation of her short whiskers against my palm. She let me trail my hand up her forehead and then scratch under her jaw. Her sweet, brown eyes blinked slowly as I finger-combed through her gray mane, and she snorted again.
“I’m glad to see you two have met.”
I looked up to see Hunter standing in the doorway of a nearby stall, holding a wooden brush in his hands as he smiled softly at me. Despite the heat in the barn, he looked calm and collected in jeans, teal blue flannel, and a white baseball cap. Like he’d just stepped from the pages of a teen magazine. The sight of him staring at me like that was a kick to the gut. My lungs deflated and the room began to spin a little.
Just friends. Just friends. Just friends.
“Hi.” Why did my greeting sound so squeaky? This was not the definition of cool.
He tilted his head slightly to one side and pressed his lips together for a moment. “Hi.”
That questioning look was back. The one he’d given me last night in the storeroom. It flickered in his eyes like a candle in a hurricane.
But I was in no state to be able to answer his questions. Not now, with the very sight of him rattling me to the core. I tore my gaze away, staring hard at the horse.
“Is she yours?”
He moved toward me and stopped to pat Carolina on the nose. Our shoulders brushed, sending a thrill through me.
“Gramps bought her for me at an auction. She comes from a good bloodline of competitors, but because of her age, she was no good to her previous owners. Grandpa saved her from being put down.”
I ran my fingertips along her neck. “That’s good. She seems really sweet.”
“She is. She’s the sweetest.”
My eyes flicked up to his face. Deep lines had formed in his forehead as he stared down at Carolina nudging his hand. Okay, it seemed that we were going for the ignore what happened between us plan. I was good with that. I could work with that.
The relief I felt was huge.
“Do I get to ride her?” I asked, smiling at him.
He met my eyes and nodded. “Let’s take her to the corral. I want to start with bareback to make sure you’ve got a good seat on you. Then, we’ll do a Western saddle.”
Half of that was gibberish to me, but at least Hunter knew what he was doing. He unhooked Carolina’s halter and led her to the open door at the end of the hall. I followed, taking in more sights of the Sweet Oak Ranch. It really was gorgeous. How anyone could come to live here and not turn their life around was beyond me. The place inspired goodness. My heart swelled just taking in the rolling green hills.
Hunter led us into a corral and shut the gate after me. He positioned Carolina close to the fence and motioned at me.
“Go ahead and get on up using the fence.”
“Wait—what? Now?” My mouth went dry just looking at the height of Carolina’s back. “Don’t I need a little instruction first?”
He harrumphed and held the reins tight in his hand. “Char, you and I both know you learn best by doing. So get on. Don’t worry, I won’t let you fall.”
I froze for a moment, wondering if those last few words had a double meaning behind them. I couldn’t be sure. But as I climbed the lowest rung of the fence and Hunter put his hands on my hips to help lift me up, the dizzying feeling was back.
It wouldn’t help to be dizzy on the back of a horse. So as soon as my rear end settled on Carolina’s back, I took a few deep and cleansing breaths. It felt odd, sitting up here, with nothing to hold onto. My knees awkwardly bumped against her sides. I fluttered my hands, unsure whether I could hold onto the bottom of her mane. I didn’t want to hurt her.
“Hunter, am I doing this right?” I asked, turning toward him.
But Hunter was already stepping up the fence and settling onto the horse behind me. My whole body froze as I felt him press up against me. I couldn’t breathe. Couldn’t move. My heart raced as if I’d been given VIP passes to a BTS concert. And when his arms wrapped around me to place the reins in my hands, I nearly had a stroke.
“Here, hold them like this.” He gently maneuvered my fingers in a certain way to hold the reins. His breath was warm on my neck. I shivered, despite the heat.
Crud. This was not what I’d had in mind for this tutoring session. There was no way I would be able to concentrate on the lesson when my entire body was feeling hot for teacher.
Just friends.
“We’re going to do a few slow and easy rounds,” he said. I could feel him nudge Carolina into a walk with the heels of his boots. I bit my lip, trying my best to keep my thoughts on the horse. “Then, I’ll hop
