Looking around I realized how much I’d missed this—the smells and sounds of the barn—horses munching, napping, and other little nuances that I’d taken for granted. I’d grown up with horses and seeing them again felt like coming home. A warmth spread in my chest and a small sigh escaped my lips. Memories flooded my mind from all the times Reagan and I had ridden together over the years and competed in the town rodeo every summer.
Entering the stables, I watched as curious horse heads popped out of stalls down the walkway. I made my way down the line of horses introducing or re-introducing myself to them. Some of these horses were older now. Some I’d known when I used to ride with Reagan. They seemed to remember me too. I cooed and stroked their muzzles as I went, sharing the carrots, apples, and sugar cubes that Reagan had provided me.
I looked over at Reagan and a wave of regret washed over me for not keeping in touch with my friend for so long. She treated me like she’d seen me just yesterday. I wondered what happened next. I knew eventually I was going to need to get a job. I couldn’t keep living with my parents. If I was going to move on, then I was going to need a source of income to sustain myself.
I got to the end of the barn and noticed a black horse in the final stall. Its head wasn’t sticking out like the rest and I wondered why. When I got to the stall, I could see the pink on the inside of his nostrils as they flared. The whites of his eyes were on display as if he wasn’t sure if I could be trusted being that close to him. I realized that look wasn’t aggression, it was fear. Looking him in the eye, I noticed that I’d seen that look before… in my own mirror. He was scared. Of what, I wasn’t sure but I could understand his pain. His initial reaction made sense to me.
“I see you’ve met Zeus,” a deep, masculine voice came from behind me. I jumped, spinning around and found myself face to face with none other than Beau Montgomery. My high school crush. Except this wasn’t the same boy that I knew in high school.
No, this was a man.
Beau was one hundred percent man. A man upwards of six foot four with thick, dark hair. Dark chocolate brown eyes looked back at me and I couldn’t pull myself away from his gaze. High cheekbones and a defined bearded jawline painted his face and then there were his lips. Perfect, pink smooch-able lips as if they’d been permanently tattooed with lipstick. He was every girl’s dream and what I deemed as close to book boyfriend material as I’d ever seen.
Stop thinking like that. You cannot kiss Beau Montgomery.
A tattoo crawled out from beneath his tight, grey t-shirt brilliantly showing off all those gorgeous, rippling biceps. The very last thing I needed was to be thinking about another man. A man who could potentially hurt me again.
The wounds were too close to the surface, but deep enough that if you poured salt on them, I’d probably scream for days.
A blush tore across my face. “Hi Beau, it’s been a while.”
“It’s been far too long, sweetheart, but you’re just as beautiful as you’ve always been.” He reached over as if to give me a friendly hug and I stepped back cringing. I hadn’t meant to, but it’d become an automatic reflex for me these days. People only got close enough to hurt me. Or, more like, Andrew had gotten close enough to almost kill me.
I sucked in a breath, “Beau…”
He looked at me, eyes roaming over my face. I wasn’t sure at that moment what he was looking for, I couldn’t think. Having this man so close to me was making me feel things I hadn’t felt in a very long time. Lust and… hope, maybe.
My eyes found the ground. I couldn’t look up and see the pity look he was probably bestowing upon me. I couldn’t stand the heartbreak.
“So…” He said quietly trailing off, causing me to peek up at him from below my eyelashes.
“So, what happened to him?” I said nodding to Zeus.
“All I know is what the rescue told me about him. Just got him in two weeks ago and he’s been like this since then. More than likely, it’s abuse. He just needs time to adjust. Time to be a horse again. His life hasn’t been the easiest. He’d been seized initially after being starved. Homes for Horses had rescued him and gotten him healthy again. Again, he’d been adopted out. The second family was better, however, when they fell on hard times, Zeus suffered. Once again, he was starved and left in a field alone. He doesn’t trust humans, but he’s never really been given the opportunity.”
I nodded; my heart heavy for this beautiful, scared creature. I felt the same way. My eyes fell back to Zeus, nostrils flaring with each breath. I wondered if he knew he was safe now?
I’d known Beau Montgomery since I was in school. He was shy, but had a kind heart and was always polite. I knew that Zeus would have the best life once he let Beau in. Once he learned to trust. I hoped for that myself. I wanted to feel safe again. To feel comfortable,
